Assassination attempt confirmed

FBI: Shots fired at Donald Trump were an assassination attempt

(Bild: AFP/Rebecca DROKE)

Donald Trump was almost killed at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officially classifies the incident as an "assassination attempt" against the ex-president. The shooter is a 20-year-old from the surrounding area - the USA is in complete shock.

Trump was standing on a stage in Pennsylvania shortly after 6 pm. He was just starting to get going, but his appearance was only to last a few minutes. What followed is another dark chapter in US history.

Three shots can be heard from a distance (see video above). After the first one, the ex-president grabs his right ear, contorted with pain. Trump himself said in a statement: "I immediately felt the bullet pierce my skin." 

Dramatic scenes: "Fight! Fight! Fight!"
The Secret Service then rushed over, screaming: "Get down! Get down! Get down!" The crowd also became restless. The horror and helplessness was written all over people's faces. Trump ducked under the lectern. His bodyguards formed a circle around him within seconds.

The Secret Service formed a human shield.

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/Gene J. Puskar)

Then the confirmation: "Shooter is down!" The shooter is neutralized. When the shots stopped, the Republican is helped up. When Trump was to be taken off the stage, he instructed his bodyguards to wait a moment. He stuck his head out of the crowd, raised his fist and shouted to his supporters: "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Blood ran down his right cheek.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/Gene J. Puskar)

The crowd reacted immediately and began chanting "USA! USA! USA!" to the roar. A spokesperson from the Trump team also confirmed that Trump was doing well. He was being examined at a local health facility.

What to do? Duck, run away or lie down? Trump fans feared for their lives.

(Bild: AP ( via APA) Austria Presse Agentur/Gene J. Puskar)

FBI agent Kevin Rojek told a press conference on Saturday in Butler, the location of the rally, that there was "no reason" to fear that danger was still imminent.

Shooter apparently a Republican
According to the authorities, in addition to the suspected shooter, one bystander was killed and two others were seriously injured. The shooter was 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park in the state of Pennsylvania, the broadcasters NBC and CBS reported on Sunday, citing the FBI. According to the report, he was a registered member of Trump's Republican Party, but had once donated to the Democrats.

The three people shot at the rally were adult men, said George Bivens, deputy chief of operations for the Pennsylvania State Police, at the press conference. 

Shot from an "elevated position"
According to the Secret Service, the shooter fired the shots "from an elevated position" outside the rally site. An eyewitness told the BBC that he had seen the gunman climb onto the roof of a low building outside the security area with a rifle. He reportedly called out to nearby police officers to alert them to the potential danger.

The officers seemed confused at first and did not immediately respond to the warning, he said. "The next thing I knew, five shots were fired," he said. "The Secret Service shot his head off. They climbed up on the roof, had their guns on him, made sure he was dead, he was dead, and that was it, it was over."

The rally in Butler was Trump's last campaign event before the Republican Party convention, which begins on Monday, where Trump will officially be chosen as the party's presidential candidate. The US presidential election will take place on November 5. The assassination attempt in Pennsylvania caused horror in the USA and internationally.

Biden shocked
"There is no place for this kind of violence in America," said Biden in Washington on Saturday (local time). "We must stand together as a nation to condemn this." 

With regard to Trump, Biden went on to say that he was "grateful to hear that he is safe and well". "I pray for him and his family and for all those who were at the meeting as we wait for more information." The White House said Biden and Trump had spoken on the phone.

Relapse into dark times
The attempted assassination is a throwback to dark times. The political rifts in the USA have become ever deeper in recent decades. At the beginning of the year, the US Department of Justice lamented a "deeply troubling increase in threats" against public officials and democratic institutions in the country.

US assassinations

• There has always been violence against high-ranking politicians in the USA, including against presidents.
• In1865 , US President Abraham Lincoln was shot dead in the box of a theater in the US capital Washington while watching a comedy.
• James Garfield was killed in 1881, and William McKinley in 1901.
• US President John F. Kennedy was shot dead in an assassination attempt on November 22 , 1963 in Dallas, Texas.
• When President Ronald Reagan was shot in Washington in 1981 , a bodyguard threw himself over him protectively.

The last US presidential election ended in an unprecedented outbreak of violence with the Capitol storm. Trump supporters finally stormed the US Capitol, the American parliament and the heart of US democracy, by force on 6 January 2021. Political observers now fear a further acceleration of the escalation spiral.