A suspected gunman open fire during Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, he was fatally shot by a Secret Service sniper, authorities said.
One rally participant was killed and two others were critically injured, the Secret Service said in a statement Friday night.
The suspect was shot and killed by members of a Secret Service counter-attack team, two law enforcement sources told CBS News.
Doug Mills/The New York Times
The gunman was outside the covered rally area, about 200 to 300 feet from the rally, and was on top of a tall structure, believed to be a warehouse, the source said. The shooter was armed with an AR-style rifle, sources said.
Several shots rang out as Trump spoke on stage at approximately 6:15 pm local time. The video shows the former president immediately touching his ear and then falling to the ground in exasperation, with Secret Service agents rushing to the stage. Some blood appeared on his face as he stood up and raised his fist to the crowd. He rushed out to the motorcade and the Secret Service later confirmed that he was safe.
In a post to the Truth Social platform, Trump said he was “shot with a bullet that penetrated the upper part of the right ear.”
“I knew right away that something was wrong because I heard whizzing, gunshots, and immediately felt a bullet rip through my skin,” he continued.
Authorities are investigating the shooting as an attempted murder. The FBI said in a statement that it led the investigation, with the help of the Secret Service and state and local agencies.
Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh FBI office, said in a press conference last Friday night that officials are close to confirming the identity of the shooter, but are not ready to publish that information.
Rojek declined to speculate on a possible motive.
The FBI led the investigation, with assistance from the Secret Service and state and local agencies.
Rally participant Ben Macer told CBS Pittsburgh that he saw the suspect “moved from roof to roof” and told the officer that the gunman “was on the roof.”
Evan Vucci / AP
“When I turned to go back to where I was, that’s when the gunshots started, then it was just chaos, and we all ran, and that’s it,” Macer said.
Rep. Mike Kelley of Pennsylvania, who was standing backstage watching Trump speak, told CBS News, “I believe the lady next to me got hit, someone else got hit.”
Dr. Jim Sweetland, an emergency room doctor who was at the rally and witnessed the shooting, told CBS News by phone that he was administering first aid to a man who had sustained a gunshot wound to the head.
“He was shot in the head, his body was rolled and he was pinned between two benches that were in the stands,” Sweetland said. “He wasn’t breathing, he didn’t have a pulse. He looked really sick.”
With the help of three people, Sweetland said he was able to get the victim to a bench and then begin administering CPR and chest compressions.
“There was a lot of blood spilled where he was, as well as brain issues,” Sweetland said.
Two Pennsylvania State Police troopers then approached, scooped up the victim and took him, possibly to an ambulance, Sweetland said.
Republican Senate candidate David McCormick, who was in the front row of the rally, also saw one person shot.
Gene J. Puskar / AP
“It’s hard to tell, there’s a lot of blood, so it’s not clear where the bullet hit him, and how badly he was injured,” McCormick told CBS News. “He looked unconscious, but even that wasn’t clear to me.”
The shooting came just two days before the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Trump’s motorcade left Butler Memorial Hospital just before 9:30 p.m. local time, two sources confirmed to CBS News. It is not clear where he is going. He was originally scheduled to go to his home in Bedminster, New Jersey, before heading to Milwaukee for the convention.
