Trump Slightly Injured, But One Was Killed & Two Others Critically Injured In Assassination Attempt Last Night At Pennsylvania Rally

Sunday,  July 14, 2024, 7:00 A.M. ET. 4 Minute Read, By Jennifer Hodges, With Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

BUTLER, PA.- Former President and 2024 Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump narrowly escaped a targeted assassination attempt last night at his Butler, Pennsylvania Rally, just two days before the start of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he will be accepting the Republican nomination for a third time.

     Within eight minutes of taking the stage, Trump was seen grabbing his right ear after a gunshot was heard. Trump dropped to the floor of the stage as Secret Service agents covered the former President as additional shots could be heard.

     During the shooting, three attendees were struck by gunfire, one fatally, and two others remain in critical condition.

     A bloodied Trump could be seen pumping his fist in the air as Secret Service Agents were seen surrounding Trump and rushing him to his protective vehicle.

     The Trump campaign said in a statement that the Former President was doing “fine” after the shooting, which he said pierced the upper part of his 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. Much bleeding took place,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

     The FBI earlier Sunday morning identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. Secret Service agents fatally shot Crooks within seconds of him firing shots at Trump, perched on top of a manufacturing company’s building some 160 yards away from the stage.

     Last night’s shooting attack is the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since John Hinkley, Jr. opened fire on President Ronald Regan, outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington DC, in 1981. 

     Saturday night’s assassination attempt has now shed light on the political violence in a deeply divided nation.

     After leaving a local hospital in Pennsylvania, Trump exited his plane shortly after midnight at Newark Liberty International Airport. A video posted by an aide showed Former President Trump walking down the stairs of the plane, flanked by Secret Service agents and a heavily armed contingent of Counter Assault Team members. After leaving the airport, Trump arrived a his Bedminster Golf course in New Jersey, where it was reported that he was in good spirits.

     Many House and Senate Republicans were quick to blame the violence on President Biden and his allies. Stating that the constant attacks on Trump as a threat to democracy have led to a volatile and toxic environment throughout the country. Republicans pointed to one comment that Biden made donors last Monday when he said, “It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye.” In the past, comments from former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said that Trump must be stopped.

     No matter whether you like Former President Trump or not, this anti-Trump rhetoric must stop; if Trump didn’t turn his head, we might be having a different conversation. One thing we must never forget is that one person lost their life, and two are fighting for their lives for nothing more than supporting democracy by going to a rally of the person they support for the presidency.