Former President Donald Trump was rushed off stage by U.S. Secret Service Saturday shots rang out, leaving the candidate injured during a Republican rally in Western Pennsylvania.
The shooting took place in Butler, a city about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh.
The gunman was killed by Secret Service agents, officials said. One spectator was killed and two others were “critically injured,” the Secret Service said. The shooter’s identity was not immediately known.
Where was Trump rally?Pennsylvania appearance was site of shooting Saturday
Biden: ‘No place in America for this kind of violence.’
During a short televised briefing after the shooting, Biden said he was trying to call Trump to speak with him as soon as possible.
“There is no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick,” the president said.
Biden declined to call the shooting an assassination attempt until he said he has more facts.
“So far he is well, we are thoroughly investigating,” Biden said. “We have some reports but not final reports”
“The bottom line is, the Trump rally was a rally that should have been able to be conducted peacefully and without any problem,” Biden said. “But the idea – the idea – that there’s political violence, or violence in America like this, is just unheard of, it’s just not appropriate. Everybody, every must condemn it. Everybody. “
Trump: ‘I was shot’
The ex-president released a statement not long after the shooting:
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” Trump wrote. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that i heard a whizzing sound and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin.
As of Saturday evening, the Secret Service was the lead investigation on the case.
The FBI will also assist in the investigation.
What happened during the shooting?
At least six loud bangs are heard while the president is on stage – some as he stands behind a podium and and some after he appears to crouch down behind the podium after the first shot.
Trump was removed from the site by Secret Service, with his fist raised, after the noises.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
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