Jonathan Nwokpor
At a Pennsylvania campaign rally, a man made an attempt on the life of Donald Trump.
The former president fell to the ground, his ear dripping with blood, as gunfire erupted, and security personnel hurried him off the stage.
The incident claimed the life of one spectator and critically injured two others.
The Secret Service shot and killed the gunman, who has been identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, on the spot.
The incident happened as follows, minute by minute:
6:03 p.m. (11.03 p.m. UK time) – Mr. Trump arrived on stage at his campaign rally in Butler, a city around thirty miles north of Pittsburgh. God Bless the USA was playing when he waved to the audience and got right into his speech.
6:11 p.m. (11:11p.m.) – Multiple shots were fired towards the stage. Mr. Trump fell to the ground after grabbing his ear.
Someone could be heard yelling “fire, fire, fire” on the video that was captured at that exact moment, which you can watch below.
6:12 p.m. (11:12 p.m.) – Secret Service agents jumped on top of the 78-year-old to protect him. “Are we good to move”, someone could be heard saying.
After saying, “Let me get my shoes,” Mr. Trump gestured to the crowd with a furious fist and told the agents to wait.
Then they hauled him off the stage and into an armoured car that was waiting for him.
6:14 p.m. (11:14 p.m.) – Mr. Trump’s motorcade left the event.
6:42 p.m (11:42 p.m.) – The incident at the rally was confirmed by the Secret Service, and Mr. Trump was deemed “safe”.
7:03 p.m. (12:03 a.m.) – Trump’s campaign team released a statement stating that he was “fine” and getting examined out at a nearby hospital.
7.10 p.m. (12.10 a.m.) – Richard Goldinger, the district attorney for Butler County, stated that there had been rumours that one man in the crowd had died in the incident.
7.28 p.m. (12.28 a.m.) – Mr. Goldinger declared the individual believed to be the gunman to be dead. In addition, he verified that one audience member had died and that another was in a critical situation.
7:50 p.m. (12:50 a.m.) – Law enforcement officials told the Associated Press news agency that the incident was being investigated into as a possible assassination attempt.
7:55 p.m. (12:55 a.m.) – US President Joe Biden made a statement, stating that he had been informed about the incident and that he was praying for Trump.
“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,” he said.
“We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”
He announced during a brief, televised briefing about 20 minutes later that he was attempting to get in touch with Mr. Trump as soon as possible.
“The rally should have been able to be conducted peacefully without any problems. But the idea, the idea that there’s political violence or violence in America like this is just unheard of – it’s just not appropriate,” he said.
“Everybody must condemn it, everybody.”
8.15pm (1.15am) – Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “appalled” by the “shocking scenes” at the rally. “Political violence in any form has no place in our societies, and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack,” he added.
8.42 p.m. (1.42 a.m.): Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social page that he had been shot in the top region of his right ear and that “much bleeding took place.”
He expressed gratitude to the Secret Service’s “rapid response” and offered his sympathies to the family of the rally victim who lost his life.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my 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,” he said.
“It is incredible that such an act can take place in our country.”
9.02 p.m. (2.02 a.m.) – The US Secret Service released a detailed statement confirming that “multiple” bullets were fired during the event, with the gunfire coming from outside the location.
Anthony Guglielmi, the spokesman, declared that the gunman had been “neutralised.” He added that there had been two serious injuries to spectators.
9.27 p.m. (2.27 a.m.) – An aerial image of a building located 150 metres from Mr. Trump’s speech surfaced. There was a body on the roof and an assault rifle.
10.09 p.m. (3.09 a.m.) – According to the White House, Mr. Biden was leaving his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware residence and heading back to Washington.
11.19 p.m. (4.19 a.m.) – Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro reported that Mr. Trump departed the Butler region while being guarded by the state police and Secret Service.
11.30 p.m. (4.30 a.m.) – After discussing the shooting with Trump, Mr. Biden boarded Air Force One to return to Washington, DC.
11.41 p.m. (4.41 a.m.) – According to NBC, the gunman has been identified as a male approximately 20 years of age.
11:53 p.m. (4:53 a.m.) – At a press conference, law enforcement officials stated that they were treating the event as an attempt on Mr. Trump’s life.
According to FBI special agent Kevin Rojeck, authorities were almost certain of the gunman’s identity, but no motive had been established.
He continued by saying that “suspicious packages” had been discovered close to the gunman’s location and that “abundance of caution” had led to the deployment of bomb assets.
12.35 a.m. (5.35 a.m.) – Mr. Biden returned to Washington, touching down at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.
12.50 a.m. (5.50 a.m.) – The first time Mr. Trump was pictured after the attack. A video of him descending an aircraft’s stairs after taking a flight from Pennsylvania to New Jersey was shared by his campaign team.
1.37 a.m. (6.37 a.m.) – The FBI identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. He was “neutralised” at the scene, according to a statement from the investigators, although they stated the investigation was still going on.
Source: Sky News
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