Gina Heslop
Former US President Donald Trump was almost assassinated during a rally in Pennsylvania. The incident happened just a few days before he was expected to accept the Republican nomination for president for the third time. The shooting caused chaos and panic among the crowd. Trump, who was shot in the ear, was quickly surrounded by his Secret Service agents and taken to his car. Despite the injury, Trump showed his defiance by pumping his fist to the crowd.
Trump’s campaign later assured everyone that he was fine after the shooting. Trump himself confirmed this on his social media, describing how he immediately knew something was wrong when he heard the shots and felt a bullet rip through the skin of his ear, causing a lot of bleeding.
The FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. They also mentioned that the investigation was still ongoing. During the shooting, one person was killed and two others were critically injured. All the victims were men. The Secret Service reported that they killed the shooter, who had been attacking from a high position outside the rally venue, which was a farm show in Butler, Pennsylvania.
At a press conference late Saturday, the FBI stated that they were not yet ready to reveal the shooter’s identity or the motive behind the assassination attempt. This attack was the most serious attempt to kill a president or a presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. It brought new attention to the issue of political violence in a very divided United States, especially with the presidential election only a few months away.
Despite the attack, the organizers of the Republican National Convention, scheduled to start on Monday in Milwaukee, said that the event would go ahead as planned. This incident is likely to increase concerns and possibly lead to more stringent security measures at the convention.
