Former US President Donald Trump stood behind a podium addressing an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, with his head tilted to the right under clear skies and warm temperatures.
Suddenly, after only 6 minutes, a barrage of “pops” was heard that sounded like gunshots.
Trump immediately grabbed his right ear and looked at the blood on his hands and then quickly fell to the ground behind the podium.
The crowd screamed and those standing behind him bowed in surprise. Six Secret Service officers rushed to the podium and surrounded Trump, who was kneeling behind the podium. Other officers armed with rifles climbed onto the podium.
There was what appeared to be a second volley of gunfire. Secret Service agents held Trump down for about 25 seconds.
One person could be heard shouting, “The shooter is down!” and another shouting, “Move!” as many in the crowd continued to shout.
Officers lifted Trump to his feet, his red baseball cap that read “Make America Great Again” no longer on his head, his hair disheveled, blood on his ear and his face covered in blood.
“Let me get my shoes. Let me get my shoes,” Trump said as officers lifted him off the ground. “Wait, wait, wait,” he said before starting to pump his fist.
One officer raised his arm above Trump’s head to shield him from possible further shots.
Trump continued to pump his fist at the crowd, chanting, “Fight.” Many in the crowd began chanting, “USA, USA.”
Secret Service officers surrounded Trump and carried him to a nearby black car, as Trump continually raised his fist as he was escorted to the vehicle amid more chants of “USA!”
A witness told the BBC he saw the shooter climb onto the roof of a low-rise building outside the security perimeter with a rifle, and shout to nearby police officers to alert them to the potential threat. He said police initially appeared confused and did not immediately respond to the warning.
“Next thing you know, five shots go off,” he added. “The Secret Service guys blow his head off. They crawl up to the roof, they put their guns on him, they make sure he’s dead. He’s dead, that’s it, it’s over.”
Ron Moos, a Trump supporter who was in the crowd, told Reuters he heard about four shots. “I saw the crowd drop to the ground and then Trump ducked down really fast,” he said. “And then all the Secret Service and his security people jumped up as fast as they could. We’re talking about a second. They all got him under protection.”
Jim Moore, 57, was in the seats behind the stage. He said a person five rows away from him was shot and fell. He said officers came and escorted him back to the stands, where they tended to his wounds.
“The guy was shot right behind us,” said Moore, of Beaver County, Pennsylvania. “After they got Trump out of the way, they took him and walked him down – he was walking – they took him behind the bleachers and put him on the ground.”
Two women in their 70s sitting near the podium said they saw two people fall after the shooting and police tend to them.
