Former president Donald Trump on Sunday urged Americans to “stand united” after he was shot at his rally in Pennsylvania.
The FBI is investigating the incident as an assassination attempt and named 20-year-old Thomas Crooksas the gunman. Trump, who survived the attack, said he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.”
One rally attendee was killed, and two were critically injured. Trump said on social media that a bullet “pierced the upper part” of his right ear before agents whisked him off stage.
The Secret Service said it killed the suspected shooter, who attacked from an elevated position outside the rally venue.
Law enforcement officials believe they may have found a third at his residence. The AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle found next to the gunman’s body was purchased by a family member, possibly his father, according to an official, the New York Times reported.
After being evaluated at a medical facility in Pennsylvania, Trump flew to New Jersey late Saturday, where he was seen exiting a plane at Newark Liberty International Airport around midnight.
Trump suggested in his social media post Sunday that he will move forward with his plans to attend the Republican National Convention this week in Milwaukee, where he is set to be named the Republican presidential nominee.
His wife Melania Trump issued a lengthy statement posted to social media. “When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron’s life, were on the brink of devastating change,” she said.
She said she was “grateful to the brave Secret Service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives.” The former first lady, who has been largely out of the public eye during former President Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, called on Americans to “ascend above the hate” and “simple-minded ideas that incite violence.”
