Trump appears to have been shot. Here’s what we know and what we don’t.
On Saturday, July 13, in-person supporters and television audiences heard what sounded like gunfire as Donald Trump addressed a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania. Shortly after, as Secret Service agents rushed the stage, Trump’s face looked as though it was smeared with blood.
While many details are still unknown, it appears someone has attempted to kill the former president.
As of this writing, much of the evening’s events remain murky. Amid rampant rumor and speculation, here are the facts as we know them right now, and what we still do not know about the night and the apparent assassination attempt:
What we know
The events were televised live on Fox News. Keeping in mind that video footage from a single angle is sometimes misleading, here is what viewers saw and heard:
The most the Secret Service will confirm about the events is the following: “An incident occurred the evening of July 13 at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania. The Secret Service has implemented protective measures and the former President is safe. This is now an active Secret Service investigation and further information will be released when available.
In a statement, the Trump campaign confirmed the former President “is fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility.”
“Trump was grazed by gunfire but is safe,” Richard Goldinger, the district attorney for Butler County where the shooting occurred, told the Washington Post’s Meryl Kornfield. (He confirmed this statement to the AP’s Seung Min Kim.)
“An audience member was killed and the shooter is dead. Another person is in serious condition,” Goldinger told the Post and AP.
The first response from the current administration came from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg: “In this horrible moment, encouraged to hear President Trump’s team indicate that the former president is doing well. An entire nation must speak with one voice today to completely and unequivocally reject all political violence.”
President Joe Biden was in church in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware at the time of the shooting. He has since been briefed by Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall.
Biden later issued a statement saying, “I’m grateful to hear that [Trump is] 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 … There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must united as one nation to condemn it.”
What we don’t know
The shooter’s identity and motive are unknown. If Goldinger is correct that one of the dead was the shooter, more information will likely be forthcoming.
The identity of any other injured or killed audience members at the rally has not been released to the public.
The weapon or weapons used in the attack, whether firearms or a high-caliber air rifle, has not been identified by investigators.
The Secret Service has not yet commented on how an armed person or persons was able to come so close to the former President.