Trump shot at during rally

Former US President Donald Trump was shot at during a rally on Saturday, followed by the former president being rushed off the stage with blood around his ear.  

The man suspected of shooting at Trump has been named by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks. He was 20 years old and from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, they said in a statement.

Trump was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when loud noises were heard in the crowd around 6.13pm. He appeared to have been struck by something in the area of his right ear as he was speaking, and videos show him quickly clutching his ear and then ducking down to the ground, as security agents and others leap to his aid.

One spectator was killed and at least two were injured.

Trump stood up with blood on the side of his face and appeared to be saying “fight, fight” while pumping his fist.

Trump was then quickly escorted from the stage and into his vehicle.

Trump has since returned home to New Jersey.

The rally location is now an active crime scene. The FBI has taken over the investigation. Trump’s team and the Secret Service confirmed that he was “fine” and being checked at a local medical facility. Trump later posted a statement on Truth Social, saying he was hit by a “bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear”.

The Butler county district attorney confirmed that the suspected shooter and one rally attendee were dead. One person at the rally was in serious condition. The Secret Service later said two people were critically injured.

The FBI is treating the incident as an assassination attempt.

The suspect was shot dead at the scene by US Secret Service officers, the agency’s spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said. He added that one bystander was killed in the shooting and two others were critically injured.

Officials later revealed that all three victims were male.

In a post to his Truth Social network, Trump said a bullet pierced the “upper part” of his right ear. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” Trump wrote. “Much bleeding took place, so I realised then what was happening.”

Blood was clearly visible on Trump’s ear and face as protection officers rushed him away.

The FBI statement added that the incident is an “active and ongoing investigation”.

Pennsylvania police say there are no further threats following the shooting.

Bystanders who spoke to the BBC suggested the gunshots may have come from a one-storey building to the right of the stage where Trump was speaking.

One witness – Greg – told the BBC that he had spotted a suspicious-looking person “bear crawling” on the roof of the building about five minutes after Trump took to the stage. He said he pointed the person out to police.

“He had a rifle, we could clearly see him with a rifle,” he said. “We’re pointing at him, the police are down there running around on the ground – we’re like ‘hey man there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle’ and the police did not know what was going on.”

Tim – who was also at the rally – told the BBC that he had heard a “barrage” of shots.

“There was a spray which we initially thought was a fire hose, and then the speaker on the right-hand side started coming down,” he said.

“Something must have hit the hydraulic lines [which caused it to fall]. We saw President Trump go to the ground and everyone started dropping to the ground because it was chaos.”

(Agencies; Picture Courtesy: Reuters)