BUTLER/WASHINGTON DC There is horror in the US after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. “There is no place for this kind of violence in America,” US President Joe Biden said at a hastily called news conference. “We must stand together as a nation to condemn this.” He hoped to “have a conversation with him tonight,” Biden stressed, announcing that he would soon deliver a State of the Union address.
Trump had previously been shot and wounded in the face by an assassin at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. One spectator was killed and two others were wounded, US media reported. The attacker was then shot by security forces.
Zoom in on this photo, the bullet is visible. #Trump pic.twitter.com/yeMKQ7Q1MH
— Ihtisham Ul Haq (@iihtishamm) July 14, 2024
Video footage shows the former US president and current Republican presidential candidate holding his suddenly bleeding ear during a speech. Shortly after, he is pulled to the ground by Secret Service troops. The footage can be clearly heard on the film. Trump then leaves the stage bleeding and with a raised fist.
HOLY SHIT
DONALD TRUMP JUST GOT A SHOT! pic.twitter.com/vyzbZrNb5W
— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) July 13, 2024
Trump speaks out
Trump and the other injured were immediately taken to nearby hospitals. “I want to thank the United States Secret Service and all law enforcement agencies for their rapid response to the shooting that just occurred in Butler, Pennsylvania. Most of all, I want to express my condolences to the family of the visitor who was killed, as well as to the family of another person who was seriously injured,” Trump wrote on the social network ‘Truth Social’.
“I was hit by a bullet that went through the upper part of my right ear. I knew right away that something was wrong because I heard a hissing sound, gunshots, and I immediately felt the bullet go through the skin. “It was bleeding a lot and that’s when I realized what was happening,” Trump continued. “It’s unbelievable that something like that could happen in our country.”
The attacker was 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Pennsylvania. He fired his shots from an elevated position, apparently from a nearby rooftop, and was gunned down shortly after the attack. Videos on social media show the killer getting into position shortly before the shots were fired.
At the time the shooter, now identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, fired at Trump. pic.twitter.com/TFPkjHp9zA
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) July 14, 2024
An eyewitness said he saw a man with a rifle on a nearby rooftop firing shots and was eventually shot.
EYEWITNESS describes to BBC News reporter seeing man with gun firing on roof of building during President Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania before being shot by Secret Service pic.twitter.com/8Dfk19FsgH
— Georgina (@gs_mick) July 13, 2024
The state is hotly contested
Trump was on a campaign trip to the state. Pennsylvania is considered a fierce battle between Democrats and Republicans. According to opinion polls, Trump is currently in the lead by a narrow margin. The former president also leads incumbent President Biden in most national polls. In the United States, the electoral college system applies, whereby the candidate who receives the most votes in a state also receives all the electoral votes. Opinion polls currently show Trump clearly ahead of Biden here.
The main election issue is the economy especially Biden’s health. The 81-year-old US president has lost a significant amount of weight in recent months and made numerous mistakes and errors in the TV duel against Trump two weeks ago. Observers assume that Biden has Parkinson’s disease. (ho)