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Former President Donald Trump was hustled off the stage with a bloodied face after a bullet pierced his ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. Authorities are now investigating what they’ve called an assassination attempt.
The attack marked the first shooting of a U.S. president or presidential candidate since President Ronald Reagan survived an assassination attempt in 1981.
Here’s a timeline of what happened at the shooting that led to the death of one rally-goer, with two more sustaining serious injuries.
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Penn., on July 13, 2024. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
“Look, they’re all pointing,” one says.
“Yeah, someone’s on top of the roof,” another says.
The video zooms in on the shooter: “Yeah, he’s right there, you see him? He’s laying down; you see him?”
“Officer!” one shouts.
“He’s on the roof!” one woman says, sounding exasperated. “Right here, right on the roof.”
As the officer grabs onto the roof’s ledge to get on the roof, the shooter turns and aims his gun in the officer’s direction.
At this point, the officer lets go of the ledge, retreats, and reports the threat via radio. The shooter then opens fire on the rally below.
At this point, the first shot can be heard on camera. Six more shots also ring out in quick succession after the first.
Just milliseconds before, the former president had cocked his head slightly to the right.
Footage shows the moment when shots were fired at former President Donald Trump during the rally. (NTD)
Pulling his hand away, he then quickly drops to the ground behind his podium. The entire crowd behind him reacts just as quickly, also falling into a crouch behind the stage.
At the same moment, video footage appears to show a Secret Service sniper positioned on a rooftop behind the stage taking a shot in the direction of the shooter. In the moment before taking the shot, the Secret Service sniper can be seen looking into his scope to line up a shot.
Shouts begin to ring out from attendees.
Moments later, a Secret Service agent can be heard shouting, “Get down, get down!”
At this point, at least seven Secret Service agents swarm the former president, falling on top of him to cover his body from further shots.
“What’re we doing, what’re we doing?” one female agent can be heard saying. “Where are we going?”
For nearly a full minute, former President Trump remains prone on the stage, his body covered by Secret Service agents.
Two Secret Service personnel carrying semi-automatic military grade rifles take to the stage, scanning the crowd as Secret Service agents try to determine their next move.
Several agents can be heard shouting, “Shooter down.”
“Shooter down, are we good to move?” a female agent asks.
“Shooter’s down,” a male agent replies. “We’re good to move.”
At this point, former President Trump begins to slowly stand up, still largely covered by agents. His shirt and hair are disheveled, and a stream of blood runs down the right side of his face.
As he stands up, agents continue to shield his body from view.
U.S. Secret Service agents rush to protect former President Donald Trump after shots were fired at him. As the former president stands up, he raises his fist to the crowd, and says, “Fight, fight, fight!” (Evan Vucci/AP Photo, Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
Moments later, he says, “Wait, wait, wait.”
The former president at this point raises his fist to the crowd and says, “Fight, fight, fight!”
He is taken by agents to an armored vehicle.
Former President Donald Trump, whose right ear was pierced by one of the bullets, is rushed offstage by U.S. Secret Service agents and escorted into a nearby vehicle. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
(Top Left) Pennsylvania state police officers tend to a person in the crowd who is injured by the shots. (Top Right) Police snipers return fire at the shooter after former President Donald Trump was injured. (Bottom Left) The building, where a witness says they saw a man with a rifle climbing up to the roof, is near the site of the rally. (Bottom Right) People watch the shooting being broadcast on television in a bar in Milwaukee on July 13, 2024. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images, Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo, Courtesy of Stephanie Costlow, Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick, it’s sick,” President Biden says from the emergency briefing room.
President Joe Biden speaks at the Rehoboth Beach Police Department, in Rehoboth Beach, Del., in the wake of the assassination attempt against his presidential rival on July 13, 2024. (Samuel Corum/Afp via Getty Images)
He also thanks the Secret Service, and all of law enforcement “for their rapid response to the shooting” and expresses condolences to the family of the person who was fatally shot and another he had heard had been seriously injured.
Workers prepare the stage for the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 13, 2024. The RNC will be held in Milwaukee from July 15–18. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
The FBI confirms that two adult men are in critical condition, while a third has died.
“Strong and resilient. He will never stop fighting for America,” Ms. Martin writes on X.
People look at the American flag as it is placed into position at the campaign event in Butler, Penn., on July 13, 2024. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)
Correction: The position of the sniper who shot and killed the shooter has been updated in the featured image based on new information.
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