A local prosecutor says the suspected gunman and at least one attendee are dead after a shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger said in a phone interview that the suspected gunman was dead and at least one rally attendee was killed.
Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick, who was sitting in the front row, told Politico that it appeared someone behind him was shot.
“All the sudden shots started to crack, someone behind me appears to have been shot,” McCormick said. “There’s lots of blood, and then the Secret Service were all over President Trump.”
Trump, as a former president, retains Secret Service protection for life under federal law. As the presumptive Republican nominee who is frequently in the public eye, he received added protective assets. He was showing off a chart of border crossing numbers during his last rally before the Republican National Convention opens Monday when bangs started ringing through the crowd.
As the first pop rang out, Trump said, “Oh,” and grabbed his ear as two more pops could be heard and he crouched down.
Someone can be heard saying near the microphone at Trump’s lectern, “Get down, get down, get down, get down!” as agents tackled the former president.
Trump could later be seen reaching with his right hand toward his face. There appeared to be blood on his face.
The Secret Service said in a statement that “the former President is safe.”
Police began vacating the fairgrounds shortly after Trump left the stage in what local officers described as a crime scene.