Former President Donald Trump sustained injuries in a shooting during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
"I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin," he said. "Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening."
Authorities are treating the incident as an attempted assassination. Upon hearing the initial gunshots, Trump collapsed, prompting Secret Service agents to rush to his side and form a protective shield around him. Moments later, the agents assisted Trump to his feet, and he appeared to address the audience, even raising his fist as he was quickly escorted to a vehicle offstage.
The Secret Service later confirmed in a statement that Trump was unharmed. In a post on Truth Social, Trump mentioned that a bullet grazed the upper part of his right ear.
According to the Secret Service, the shooter was neutralized by their agents. Additionally, one rally attendee was killed, and two others were critically injured. The FBI identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, approximately 35 miles from the rally site.
A law enforcement source and an officer present at the scene informed CNN that the shooter had positioned himself on a rooftop near the rally venue.
Former US President Donald Trump remarked that he is "supposed to be dead" following an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday night. In one of his initial interviews since the incident, Trump told conservative media that he believes he was saved "by luck or by God."