In a shocking turn of events in Pennsylvania, United States, former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally on Saturday.
The 78-year-old was injured in the right ear as gunshots rang out in Butler City, resulting in a chaotic scene that left one attendee and the suspected shooter dead, and two other spectators critically injured.
Trump, who was on stage addressing his supporters, was suddenly rushed off with blood streaking down his face. Despite the injury, he managed to raise a defiant fist to the crowd, later stating, “I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.”
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The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) quickly classified the shooting as an assassination attempt.
The FBI identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was “neutralized” by Secret Service agents after firing multiple shots from an elevated position outside the rally. The US Secret Service confirmed that Crooks had fired toward the stage before being stopped.
President Joe Biden swiftly condemned the attack, calling for unity against political violence. “Everybody must condemn the suspected assassination attempt against Trump. We cannot allow this to be happening,” Biden said, noting the unprecedented nature of such violence.
Cutting short his weekend trip to Delaware, Biden returned to Washington, DC, for a security briefing. “I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. 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 added.
Staged?
American actress Amanda Seales and several others believe the assassination attempt was staged.
“That sh*# was more staged than a Tyler Perry production of Madea Runs for President.
“I lived in Harlem long enough to know gunshots do not sound like making popcorn on the stove,” she said.
Another person named Jane Eire said “It looks very staged. Sounded like a BB gun. Nobody in the crowd is running or panicking. Nobody in that crowd heard an actual gun. I don’t trust it. I don’t trust him.”
Fueling this belief is the observed abnormal lapses in security. Many claimed that the Secret Service ignored warnings and signs of danger minutes before the shooting.
“Actively communicating with a number of former colleagues from the Secret Service about the assassination attempt,” Dan Bongino, a former member of the Secret Service noted.
“This is an obviously catastrophic failure and NO excuses should be made, or even attempted. The failures are profound and questions must be answered about ground surveillance, air surveillance, post-stander support, and counter-sniper advance work and response.
“We have ONE job, and we came within inches of a deadly failure today. An uneventful failure is NOT a success.”
An eye-witness said he saw the suspect climb on top of a nearby structure outside the event and notified the police who didn’t take action.
“The guy army crawled up the building 50 feet from us… he had a rifle.
“He’s crawling! I’m thinking, why is Trump still speaking!
“I’m sitting there pointing at him for two or three minutes!
“I am 100% certain…,” he said.
In addition, another person observer noted: “They left the roof wide open. Secret Service snipers had eyes on the shooter. People were screaming about a man on the roof with a gun. But Secret Service waited. They waited for him to take the shots. Then they killed the shooter. It was a setup. And he wasn’t supposed to miss.”
The former president has been convicted on all counts related to criminal charges stemming from his relationship with porn actor Stormy Daniels. Trump was accused of paying “hush money” to conceal an affair, making him the first U.S. president to be convicted of a felony. However, his supporters believe the Republican presidential candidate was being targeted, triggering a massive donation to his campaign.
This backdrop has fueled the belief that the recent assassination attempt on Trump was staged to garner public sympathy.
However, following the shooting incident, several prominent Americans have come out publicly to endorse Trump’s presidential ambition.
“I was voting for Trump, but had doubts about him this go round. No more. He left telling us to fight. He was SHOT and was telling us to fight. Thank God he is alive. I will crawl over broken glass and through fire to get him elected,” Tracy Beanz, Editor-in-Chief of Uncover DC wrote.
Entrepreneur and owner of social media platform X, Elon Musk, who has been Right-leaning since the beginning of the current election cycle, publicly endorsed Trump.
“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” he said.
Trump is running for a second term about four years after his first term ended in chaos.
Speaker Mike Johnson said the House will conduct a full investigation of the tragic events today.
“The American people deserve to know the truth. We will have Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and other appropriate officials from DHS and the FBI appear for a hearing before our committees ASAP,” he said.
Many have blamed the incident on the prevalence of assault rifles, which they said, has been backed by the Republicans led by Trump himself.
On Saturday, Biden in a post, accused Trump of supporting the unchecked use of assault weapons.
“I want to ban assault weapons and require universal background checks. Trump promised the NRA that he’d do nothing about guns. And he means it,” he said.
Trump was on his way to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee after he was reported to have had a precautionary hospital checkup.