FBI leads investigation into Trump assassination attempt at campaign rally

WASHINGTON,  US

Former U.S. President Donald Trump said late Saturday that a bullet clipped his right ear after shots were fired in his direction at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania and the nation’s top law enforcement agency said it had taken the lead in the investigation.

"This evening, we had what we are calling an assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. It's still an active crime scene," Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI's Pittsburgh field office, said during a press conference.

The shooter is dead, one rally attendee was killed and two other spectators were injured, according to a statement from the Secret Service.

The shooting happened just after Trump took the stage at 6 p.m. local time at a rally in the town of Butler.

“We will continue to support this investigation with the full resources of the FBI, alongside our partners at the U.S. Secret Service and state and local law enforcement,” the FBI said earlier in a statement.

The event prompted President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama to issue strong statements condemning political violence.

Late Saturday, the White House said Biden had spoken to Trump – though they did not immediately give details of the conversation – and also to Pennsylvania’s governor and Butler’s mayor. 

The administration also said he was returning to the White House in the early hours of Sunday, instead of remaining at his Delaware home as planned.

The incident threatens to further intensify and complicate an already tough presidential race and inflame rhetoric around an already tense national debate.

On Saturday, in a statement on social media site X, the Republican National Committee said that Trump still intended to appear at the party’s convention in Milwaukee on Monday.

Trump also confirmed, in a statement on his social media site, that the shooter was killed, and that one spectator at the rally was killed and another wounded. 

In a statement published on X, the Secret Service said two people attending the rally were wounded, not one.

Trump also thanked the Secret Service and law enforcement for their work.

“Most importantly,” he said, “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. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead.”

“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” he continued. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!”