Trump Confirms Bullet ‘Pierced’ Ear During Rally Shooting

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surround by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024. Evan Vucci/AP Photo

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday night issued a statement after he was shot at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania just hours earlier.

The presumed 2024 GOP presidential candidate confirmed that a bullet had “pierced the upper part” of his ear.

“Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured,” former President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

A shooter is dead and an attendee was killed, officials said. Two attendees are critically injured. The former president’s campaign says he is “fine” after being whisked off the stage and is being checked out at a local medical facility.

The former president confirmed in his statement that he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” adding that he “knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin.”

“Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening,” he wrote, adding that it’s “incredible that such an act can take place in our Country.”

During the rally, the former president was speaking to the crowd when several loud gunfire-like noises were heard as he ducked to the ground behind his podium before multiple Secret Service agents rushed to gather around him. As he got up, blood appeared to streak across former President Trump’s face.

Multiple shots were fired toward the stage by presumably a shooter, who has yet to be identified. The suspect fired from an “elevated position outside of the rally venue,” said the U.S. Secret Service in a statement Saturday. Agents “neutralized” the shooter who is now dead, the service added.

Former President Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., issued a statement on his father’s health, saying he is in “great spirits” after the incident. He will never stop fighting to save America,” he added.

Before former President Trump allowed Secret Service to whisk him off the stage, he made a conscious effort to let the crowd know he was ok with some fist pumps in the air while looking around at the crowd.

A spokesperson for New York Mayor Eric Adams told news outlets that out of “an abundance of caution,” the city’s police department will increase its presence across the city, including at Trump Tower and 40 Wall Street.

“While we are surging these resources, we want to be very clear that we see no nexus to NYC at this time,” wrote Fabien Levy on X. Mr. Levy said the mayor “has been briefed on the incident involving former President Trump in Pennsylvania [and] continues to get updates.”

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After the incident, several top Democrats, including President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama, condemned the shooting.

There is absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy,“ former President Obama wrote in a statement, adding that ”we should all be relieved that former President Trump wasn’t seriously hurt, and use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics.”

President Biden told reporters who were with him in Delaware, “I tried to get ahold of Donald. He’s with his doctors.

“I plan on talking to him, shortly, I hope,” he added.

The president added that there is “no place in America for this kind of violence,” continuing, “It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons we have to unite this country.”

He added, “We cannot condone this.”

In a formal statement, President Biden said that he is “praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information.”

“There’s no place for this kind of violence in America,” he added. “We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.