Donald Trump braves ‘assassination attempt’; shooter, supporter dead

Washington: A gunman and a member of the audience died in a shooting at former US President Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night. Another spectator is in serious condition. Trump was also injured. The law enforcement authorities are investigating the shooting as an attempted assassination.

Visuals showed Donald Trump dropping to the ground and being swarmed by security officers as gunshots rang out. He was whisked away with blood on his face. US President Joe Biden has condemned the incident.

The US Secret Service said Donald Trump was “fine”. The law enforcement officials shot the attacker down. This was the first attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. The attack comes just four months ahead of the US presidential elections.

According to reports, the shooter wasn’t an attendee at the rally and was shot dead by the US Secret Service agents. The heavily armed tactical team travels everywhere with the president and major party nominees and is meant to confront any active threats.
Trump could be heard saying “oh” as the first shot was fired in the middle of his speech. He put his right hand on his right ear. Later, two more shots were fired. The Secret Service took two minutes to take Trump out of the rally venue to a waiting car. The nature of Trump’s injury isn’t known yet.

Before he was put into his vehicle, Donald Trump turned back to the crowd and raised his fist, signalling that he was unfazed by the attack. He later thanked the authorities for their quick action. “President Trump thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act. He is fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility. More details will follow,” spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.

US President Joe Biden was briefed about the shooting. “I have been briefed on the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania. I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and all those who were at the rally, as we await further information. Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it,” he said.