Donald Trump calls
Americans to stand
united after an
assassination attempt

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14

CALIFORNIA: Donald Trump called on Americans on Sunday to stand united after he was injured in an assassination attempt — a shocking incident that opened a dark new chapter in an already polarised US presidential race.

Trump was shot in the ear during a campaign rally, streaking the Republican presidential candidate’s blood across his face and prompting his security agents to swarm him, before he emerged and pumped his fist in the air, mouthing the words “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Donald Trump

Hours after the incident, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it had identified the shooter in the assassination attempt as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Pennsylvania, US media reported early on Sunday.
Crooks and one rally attendee were killed and two other spectators were injured, the US Secret Service said in a statement.
The person who died in a shooting was identified as 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, according to his family’s posting on Facebook.
“The PA Trump Rally claimed the life of my brother, Corey Comperatore. The hatred for one man took the life of the one man we loved the most,” the victim’s sister said in the post.
Donald Trump was shot in the ear during a Saturday campaign rally, streaking the Republican presidential candidate’s blood across his face and prompting his security agents to swarm him, before he emerged and pumped his fist in the air, mouthing the words “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Hours after the incident, the FBI said it had identified the shooter in the assassination attempt as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Pennsylvania, US media reported early on Sunday.

Crooks and one rally attendee were killed and two other spectators were injured, the Secret Service said in a statement.

President Biden has condemned the incident and spoken with Trump.

The incident was being investigated as an assassination attempt, a source told Reuters.

Incumbent US President Joe Biden has since spoken to Trump after the incident, according to a White House Official. Biden also spoke with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy, the official said.

Trump, 78, had just started his speech when the shots rang out. He grabbed his right ear with his right hand, then brought his hand down to look at it before dropping to his knees behind the podium before Secret Service agents swarmed and covered him.
He emerged about a minute later, his red “Make America Great Again” hat knocked off, and could be heard saying “wait, wait,” before agents ushered him into a vehicle.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform following the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles (50 kilometres) north of Pittsburgh. “Much bleeding took place.”
The shooter’s identity and motive were not immediately clear. Leading Republicans and Democrats quickly condemned the violence. The Trump campaign said he was “doing well.”

The shooting occurred less than four months before the November 5 election, when Trump faces an election rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden. Most opinion polls, including those by Reuters/Ipsos, show the two locked in a close contest.