Former President of the United States, Donald Trump, has been released from the hospital after an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania's Butler County. The 78-year-old Republican presidential candidate was rushed off stage by the Secret Service on Saturday after shots were fired that grazed his ear.
Trump left the Butler area under the protection of the US Secret Service and later arrived at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, according to a report by Reuters.
Donald Trump Shooting: Top Points
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old resident of Bethel Park in Pennsylvania. Crooks was shot and killed by Secret Service officials after he tried to assassinate the former US president. However, the FBI did not name him immediately while they waited for DNA results.
One of the attendees of Trump's rally was killed in the shooting that left two others in critical condition.
The BBC interviewed a man who described himself as an eyewitness, saying he saw a man armed with a rifle crawling up a roof near the event. The person, who the BBC did not identify, said he and the people he was with started pointing at the man, trying to alert security.
Donald Trump is "doing well" and is grateful to law enforcement officers, according to a statement published on the Republican National Committee (RNC), external website. "President Trump looks forward to joining you all in Milwaukee as we proceed with our convention to nominate him to serve as the 47th President of the United States. As our party's nominee, President Trump will continue to share his vision to Make America Great Again," the statement from the Republican leader's campaign and RNC reads.
Earlier, Trump posted a statement on Truth Social, a platform he founded and thanked law enforcement officers and the Secret Service for their "rapid response". "Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured. It is incredible that such an act can take place in our country," he said.
Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, also took to X to acknowledge the "love and prayers" for her father and for the other victims of the "senseless violence". "I am grateful to the Secret Service and all the other law enforcement officers for their quick and decisive actions today. I continue to pray for our country. I love you Dad, today and always," she said.
Also posting on X, Donald Trump Jr shared an image of his father being escorted away from the rally in Pennsylvania with his fist in the air and blood streaked across his face. He posted the image with the caption "He'll never stop fighting to Save America".
US President Joe Biden also condemned the attack on Trump and said “There’s no place in America for this kind of violence.”
The attack on Trump was reportedly the first shooting of a US president or major party candidate since the 1981 attempted assassination of Republican President Ronald Reagan. The incident raised immediate questions about security failures by the Secret Service, which provides former presidents including Trump with lifetime protection.
The shooting occurred less than four months before the November 5 election, when Trump is set to face an electoral rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden. Trump is also due to receive his party's formal nomination at the Republican National Convention, which kicks off in Milwaukee on Monday.