“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. I am grateful to the brave secret service agents and law enforcement officials who risked their own lives to protect my husband,” she said in the statement.
“To the families of the innocent victims who are now suffering from this heinous act, I humbly offer my sincerest sympathy. Your need to summon your inner strength for such a terrible reason saddens me. The winds of change have arrived. For those of you who cry in support, I thank you. I commend those of you who have reached out beyond the political divide – thank you for remembering that every single politician is a man or a woman with a loving family,” the statement added.
Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, also issued a statement.
“Thank you for your love and prayers for my father and for the other victims of today’s senseless violence in Butler, Pennsylvania,” she said in a statement on X.
The shooting, which left one spectator dead and two others critically injured, is being investigated as an attempted assassination. The male attacker was also shot and killed by a member of the Secret Service.
A spokesperson for the Trump Campaign said the former president is “fine” after the “heinous act.”
The gunman was identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park. He was registered to vote as a Republican.
Though Trump received only minor injuries, it was a close shave – a photograph by Doug Mills of the New York Times appears to show the streak of a bullet cutting through the air near the former president’s head.
The incident threatens to further complicate an already tough presidential race and inflame rhetoric, just 115 days before the presidential election.
The suspect fired at Trump from between 200ft and 300ft away on an elevated position with an AR-style assault rifle.
With Inputs from Agencies
