Former president Donald J. Trump was one head turn away from being assassinated at the Butler Farm Show Grounds in Butler, Pennsylvania at a rally on Saturday at 6:12 p.m. ET. So says a physician who was interviewed after the shooting and other media outlets have reported.
Trump is “fine” and on the move again.
Trump has been seen flying into New Jersey after going to a Pennsylvania hospital, He is being called “resilient,” a “warrior” and “lucky” after surviving an attempted assassination attempt. He posted on Truth Social last night “I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania. 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. 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. 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!”
Witness accounts about the victim who was shot and killed in the stands.
A witness who was identified as Rico Elmore, and is in the military, spoke to ABC 7 Chicago about the person who was shot and killed near him in the stands, “Someone yelled medic…there was no way a medic could have got to that person in time… I left my seat, took my tie off and jumped off the barrier and ran to the individual. But when I got there it was too late. The person was bleeding out through their head…I tried to block the wound…”
Sky News reports that Joseph, a doctor, was in the stands near the victim. He said, “He was killed instantly as far as I could tell. At that point, state police and a SWAT team started evacuating the bleachers and I helped carry the man out to a tent.” He said a woman was also hit. He said about her, “She flinched and then it looked like she had taken a gunshot to the forearm and hand.”
Joseph said that the family members of the man who was shot and killed were also in the stands. He said, “They were in shock – they didn’t know what was going on but the man was definitely killed instantaneously.”
It’s reported that one other person was critically injured but no information is available on that person. We also don’t know the identity of the victim who was killed as of the posting of this article.
Shooter identified.
Overnight, according to the Daily Mail, the Trump shooter (who was fatally shot and killed by Secret Service) was identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
His father, Matthew, told CNN that he’s going to try to figure out “what the hell is going on” and would wait until he talks to law enforcement before speaking to the media again.
The shooter Crooks was identified by DNA said FBI Special Agent Kevin Rojek as the suspect didn’t have any ID on him. The Daily Mail reports that the alleged shooter was a registered Republican and at age 17 donated to the liberal ActBlu political action committee on the day of Biden’s inauguration.
Reports say that there were law enforcement vehicles outside of his residence after the incident happened.
Former Secret Service agent speaks out.
Former Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy spoke with WGN News about the shooting, discussing that it’ll need to be looked at how it happened and how to prevent it from happening again.
He called it a “failure” of the Secret Service when a protectee is hit. He said that something went wrong, asserting, “Something’s gonna have to be changed.”
He also discussed the difficulty of protecting someone in the current environment of drones, high powered riles that can shoot accurately from a long distance and IEDs. He said that the protection has to be done from 360-degrees and the possibilities are almost endless as to what can happen. He also said, “there is no foolproof security anywhere in this world” and says you try to bring odds in your favor and have to rely on the “final ring of protection” (the agents assigned to the presidential detail).
One thing (of many) the Secret Service will have to answer for is why they were slow to respond after witnesses pointed to the shooter on the roof of the building – and why the shooter was able to get so close to Trump in the first place.
Witness Nathan Ryber, 20 feet away from shooting victim, speaks out.
Seated in the left bleacher section of the rally (where family and friends of Trump were placed according to media reports), Ryber said to ABC News, “People were terrified…” He talked about seeing Rico with blood all over his shirt and will “never forget that image. I saw someone who was encountering the unimaginable.”
Asked about the state of the country, Ryber discussed a previous interview he did about the Trump verdict when he was convicted in NY, saying that “things are deteriorating” at a rapid rate. He added, “This is a damaging image to the world.”
Trump fundraiser collects over $200K for victims.
A GoFundMe fundraiser authorized by Trump’s presidential campaign has raised over $200K for the families of the victims of the Butler, Pennsylvania shooting so far. The target is $1 million. Trump campaign’s national finance director Meredith O’Rourke said about the donations, “All donations will be directed to these proud Americans as they grieve and recover.”
Why did this happen?
Many are saying that the attempted assassination is the result of the heated political environment in America today. With Democrats who are constantly targeting former President Donald J. Trump for financial and political destruction, many are not surprised that this assassination attempt happened.
Biden and his pals in the media and Democratic Party are constantly calling Trump a threat to the nation, and democracy. The heated rhetoric comes from them constantly.
Former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard says the shooting was a consequence of Trump haters comparing him to Hitler. She said, “After all, if Trump truly was another Hitler, wouldn’t it be their moral duty to assassinate him?”
Democrats give lip service after assassination attempt.
Although most of Trump’s political rivals have denounced the shooting and the violence that occurred at the rally, many of their critics that they all have blood on their hands because of their demonization of Trump and their constant TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) rhetoric to paint Trump as the most dangerous man to have ever walked the earth.
Rally-goer calls out crazy Democrats.
A woman named Erin at the rally summed up the attempted assassination this way:: “I feel sad for our country – I feel sad for everybody. You don’t like the guy, don’t vote for him. Don’t kill him. We love the guy, we’re gonna vote for him. I mean, what is up with this violence?”
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