Presidential candidate Donald Trump has been shot at a rally in Pennsylvania, suffering a wound to his ear.
The would-be assassin has been named as Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
This came at a Trump rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds, where the open spaces are believed to have offered the gunman plenty of scope. It is about 40 miles north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s second largest city after Philadelphia.
Trump was grazed in the ear by a bullet, causing his face to be covered in blood, and secret service bodyguards surrounded him and took him to the floor behind the podium, covering him.
He got to his feet, pumped his fist and shouted “Fight, fight, fight!” to the crowd before being rushed off the stage by a detail of security service agents.
The 78-year-old is believed to have attended a local medical facility and later flew by helicopter to New Jersey where he said he was fine and thanked law enforcement and first responders for their quick actions.
Crooks killed one supporter at the rally and critically injured two more. He was killed by security service counter-snipers and an AR-15 assault rifle was found near his body. The incident happened at 6:15pm EST, 02:15am Madrid time.
He was a registered member of the Republican Party, though it appears he also donated to Biden’s campaign.
It is the most serious attempt on a US president’s life since the attack on Ronald Reagan in 1981. The deadliest attempt came in 1963 when John F Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, which continues to spawn a myriad conspiracy theories.
