Former President Donald Trump was shot in the ear Saturday evening during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in what the FBI says was an assassination attempt.
The gunman and at least one audience member are dead, the Secret Service said, and two other attendees are critically injured. Agents said the former president is safe after they rushed him off the stage with blood on his face.
The FBI has identified the gunman as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. Authorities say he fired multiple shots from a building rooftop just outside the rally venue, before he was killed by Secret Service agents.
Eyewitnesses described a “bloody” and chaotic scene. “It’s pure insanity,” said one rally attendee.
President Joe Biden spoke with Trump after the shooting and denounced the violence in remarks Saturday night. Biden returned to the White House from Delaware earlier than planned so he can continue receiving briefings from law enforcement.