BUTLER, Pa. — Former President Donald Trump was rushed off the stage with blood on the side of his head and his ear after shots were fired just minutes into his rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Trump’s campaign said he was safe in the aftermath of the attack. The former president said in a post on Truth Social about two and a half hours later that a bullet “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,” Trump wrote on the social media platform. “Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.”
One spectator from the rally is dead, and two were critically injured, according to Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi. The shooter is dead, he said.
Trump thanked law enforcement in his online statement and extended condolences to the families of the people killed and injured.
“It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country,” he wrote.
The shots were fired from outside of the U.S. Secret Service security perimeter for the rally, according to three senior U.S. law enforcement officials.
The suspected shooter fired from an elevated position outside of the rally, Guglielmi said in the Secret Service statement. He added that Secret Service personnel “neutralized the shooter.”
Trump was about six minutes into his speech when he reached for the side of his face as popping sounds rang out. He then crouched down as Secret Service agents rushed the stage and surrounded him. He was quickly escorted into a vehicle, walking off the stage with agents on all sides.
Trump pumped his fists in the air as he was escorted off of the stage. The crowd cheered as the former president raised his arms.
Reporters on the scene saw smoke and heard what they initially thought were fireworks before everyone ducked and law enforcement encircled Trump.
Screams from the audience rang out as the scene unfolded.
Follow live updates on the Trump rally shooting
A doctor attending the event told NBC News that he saw a man suffer a gunshot wound to the head and helped carry him from the site of the rally. Speaking in a parking lot near the event, a mother and son who were attending the rally told NBC News that they saw people in the crowd who were injured and carried away.
People remained at the scene for 10 to 15 minutes after Trump was taken away, after which they were then told it was an active crime scene and all attendees were escorted out.
The Secret Service has requested that the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office help with the investigation into the shots fired, according to two senior U.S. law enforcement officials.
The FBI said in a statement that personnel are on the scene, and they will work jointly with the Secret Service investigating the incident as an assassination attempt.
There is currently no sign that the attack has any link to a foreign actor, according to a U.S. official.
Trump’s spokesperson Steven Cheung said that the former president “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,” Cheung said. “More details will follow.”
Biden, political world react
President Joe Biden called the attack “sick” and thanked law enforcement during remarks delivered on camera.
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick,” Biden said. “It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. We cannot allow for this to be happening.”
“Everybody must condemn it,” Biden added.
The president also said he hopes to speak to Trump later on Saturday.
When asked by a reporter whether Biden believed that the attack on Trump was an assassination attempt, the president responded that he didn’t “know enough” to say at the time.
“I have an opinion, but I don’t have any facts,” Biden said, adding that he wanted to gather all of the facts first.
Biden, who is in Delaware for the weekend, also said in a statement that he is praying for Trump. The president said he has been briefed on the shooting.
“I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information,” Biden’s statement said. “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.”
Biden learned about the attack when he was coming out of church services, according to a person familiar with the timeline of events. He wanted to address the nation as soon as he was fully briefed, the source added.
Vice President Kamala Harris has also been briefed, she said in a statement.
“Doug and I are relieved that he is not seriously injured,” Harris said. “We are praying for him, his family, and all those who have been injured and impacted by this senseless shooting.”
She added that “violence such as this has no place in our nation,” urging everyone to “condemn this abhorrent act.”
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said in a statement posted to X that he has been briefed by law enforcement. He condemned the attack as a “horrific act of political violence at a peaceful campaign rally,” saying that it “has no place in this country and should be unanimously and forcefully condemned.”
In the minutes after the incident unfolded, politicians began posting on social media that they were praying for Trump, including vice presidential contenders Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Donald Trump Jr., one of the president’s children, wrote in a post to X that his father will “never stop fighting to Save America.” His message was accompanied with a photo of Trump pumping his fist with blood on his face.
Democrats, too, released statements expressing horror at the attack.
“I am horrified by what happened at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in a post on X. “Political violence has no place in our country.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, condemned the attack in a post on X.
“Violence targeted at any political party or political leader is absolutely unacceptable,” said Shapiro. “It has no place in Pennsylvania or the United States.”
Shapiro added that he has been briefed on the situation and that state police were on the scene, working with federal and local partners.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged Americans to pray for Trump.
“Now is the time for every American who loves our country to step back from the division, renounce all violence, and unite in prayer for President Trump and his family,” Kennedy said.
Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., who was shot by a gunman in 2011, released a statement condemning political violence.
“Political violence is terrifying. I know,” she said. “I’m holding former president Trump, and all those affected by today’s indefensible act of violence in my heart. Political violence is un-American and is never acceptable — never.”
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., who was shot and injured in 2017 when a gunman opened fire on Republicans during a baseball practice, condemned Democratic rhetoric leading up to the attack.
“For weeks Democrat leaders have been fueling ludicrous hysteria that Donald Trump winning re-election would be the end of democracy in America,” he said in a post on X. “Clearly we’ve seen far left lunatics act on violent rhetoric in the past. This incendiary rhetoric must stop.”
Trump’s campaign is in a “complete communications lockdown,” according to a message sent to staff by James Blair, the political director for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee.
“Everything is OK,” Blair wrote. “We have no details to share at this time but will follow up soon with more information.”
A Biden campaign official told NBC News that their campaign is also “pausing all outbound communications and working to pull down our television ads as quickly as possible.”
The Republican National Convention, where Trump is set to officially become the GOP presidential nominee, is set to begin on Monday.
This is a breaking new story and will continue to be updated.
Dasha Burns and Jake Traylor are reporting from Butler, Pa.; Megan Lebowitz from Washington, D.C.
