Photo: Donald Trump was whisked off the stage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania after apparent gunshots rang through the crowd. He quickly ducked behind the podium as agents from his protective detail rushed the stage and screams rang out from the crowd.
by Jill Colvin, Julie Carr Smyth, Colleen Long, Eric Tucker, Michael Balsamo and Michelle L. Price BUTLER, Pa. (AP), July 14, 2024
apnews.com
Former President Donald Trump was the target of an apparent assassination attempt Saturday at a Pennsylvania rally, days before he was to accept the Republican nomination for a third time. A barrage of gunfire set off panic, and a bloodied Trump, who said he was shot in the ear, was surrounded by Secret Service and hurried to his SUV as he pumped his fist in a show of defiance.
Trump’s campaign said the presumptive GOP nominee was doing “fine” after the shooting, which he said 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. Much bleeding took place,” he wrote on his social media site.
The FBI early Sunday identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The agency said the investigation remains active and ongoing.
Secret Service agents fatally shot Crooks, who attacked from an elevated position outside the rally venue at a farm show in Butler, Pennsylvania, the agency said.
One attendee was killed and two spectators were critically injured, authorities said. All were identified as men.
The attack was the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. It drew new attention to concerns about political violence in a deeply polarized U.S. less than four months before the presidential election. And it could alter the tenor and security posture at the Republican National Convention, which will begin Monday in Milwaukee.
Organizers said the convention would proceed as planned.
Trump flew to New Jersey after visiting a local Pennsylvania hospital, landing shortly after midnight at Newark Liberty International Airport. Video posted by an aide showed the former president deplaning his private jet flanked by U.S. Secret Service agents and heavily armed members of the agency’s counter assault team, an unusually visible show of force by his protective detail.
President Joe Biden, who is running against Trump, was briefed on the incident and spoke to Trump several hours after the shooting, the White House said.
“There’s no place in America for this type of violence,” the president said in public remarks. “It’s sick. It’s sick.”
(AMANDALA Ed. Note: “When Uncle Sam sneezes, Belize catches a cold.” It is everyone’s concern that the upcoming election season in the U.S. will “keep cool”, as Marcus Garvey would advise. We are all thankful that Mr. Trump was not seriously injured, and wish that he would seize this opportunity to take on the mantle of a would-be martyr and champion for peace in their upcoming campaign. Belizean-Americans will be in the thick of things these coming months before the November elections in the U.S., and Belizeans at home will likewise be tuning in with hopeful outlooks on the results, which may have a great impact on Belize, “for better or for worse”. But, for the moment, Belize enjoys a golden opportunity, and it is a given, that Belizean-Americans will be mindful of the generosity of the current American administration towards their home, Belize, when they go to the polls in the U.S. this November.)
