This is the moment a US Secret Service agent struggles to holster her weapon after Donald Trump was shot in an assassination attempt.
Trump, 78, was left bloodied and wounded last night when a bullet pierced the ‘upper part’ of his right ear in a horrific assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania.
Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire from a rooftop just 130 yards from where the former president was on stage speaking to thousands of fans in Butler at 6.15pm.
Crooks, from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was shot dead at the scene by US Secret Service officers.
As loud bangs rang out, Trump suddenly grabbed hold of his ear before ducking to the floor as the Secret Service swarmed around him.
He then got to his feet with blood pouring down his cheek and raised his fist in the air and defiantly shouted ‘fight’ as he was dragged off stage while the MAGA crowd chanted ‘USA’.
There appeared to be chaotic scenes as Trump was bundled into a nearby vehicle as confused-looking Secret Service agents nervously looked around.
One seemed to struggle to holster her weapon into her waistband, while another frantically moved around before touching her ear and facing the crowd as she stood in front of the vehicle.
Republicans have since claimed they made ‘repeated requests for stronger protection’ for Trump as questions begin to grow over the former President’s security.
Former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump is helped offstage after being shot in an assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania
A bullet (circled) can be seen whizzing towards Donald Trump as he talks at a rally in Pennsylvania
There were chaotic scenes as the former President was bundled into a black SUV, with a Secret Service agent appearing to struggle to holster her weapon
She made a couple of attempts to place the weapon back into the gun holster before giving up and deciding to keep a hold of it in her hand
US Secret Service agents surround Trump and the stage after shots are fired
A wounded Trump is dragged offstage as blood pours from his ear
A member of the crowd was killed, while two others who were wounded are in a critical condition. All three are males, according to law enforcement officials.
Rep. Ronny Jackson later revealed his nephew was shot during the assassination attempt and a bullet had grazed his neck.
Jackson, who was Trump and President Barack Obama’s White House physician, said he helped his nephew and a friend get a spot in the friends and family section close to the stage at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Rep. Mike Waltz claimed that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had denied Trump stronger Secret Service protection.
The Florida congressman wrote on X: ‘I have very reliable sources telling me there have been repeated requests for stronger secret service protection for President Trump. Denied by Secretary Mayorkas.’
Sources told the New York Post Trump’s Secret Service protection is the fraction the size of sitting presidents.
And he does not receive counter assault and counter defence as part of his protection team, the source added.
Trump mouthed the word ‘fight’ at supporters as blood spattered across his face
As Trump pumped his fist to the crowd, some were heard cheering his name and chanting ‘USA’ and ‘Make America Great Again’
The extent of Trump’s injuries are not clear, although he appeared to want to show his supporters that he was okay within seconds of being shot
Trump is seen surrounded by Secret Service agents in the moments after the shooting. He raised his fist to indicate that he was okay in an image that has since swept the globe
Donald Trump appeared to be shot in the ear as shots were fired at the former president at a rally in Pennsylvania
Police personnel stand over the body of Thomas Matthews Crooks on a rooftop
A stunned witness, named only as Greg, told the BBC he saw the would-be assassin climb onto the top of a building outside the event, and that he was bewildered by the lack of action from agents.
He said: ‘I’m thinking to myself, why is Trump still speaking, why have they not pulled him off the stage? The next thing you know, five shots ring out.’
After the gunman opened fire he saw the Secret Service ‘blow his head off,’ the man said.
In a post to his Truth Social network, Trump said a bullet pierced the ‘upper part’ of his right ear.
He received treatment at hospital before being released. Trump later posted a statement thanking the Secret Service and other law enforcement ‘for their rapid response’.
He added: ‘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,’ he says in the post.
‘It is incredible that such an act can take place in our country. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead.’
He ended the post with: ‘GOD BLESS AMERICA!’
‘I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,’ Trump wrote. ‘Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.’
US House Speaker Speaker Mike Johnson vowed that the House will conduct a full investigation.
In a post on X, the speaker said: ‘The American people deserve to know the truth.
Trump remained defiant as he raised his fist again as he is bundled into a nearby SUV before being taken to hospital
Some US Secret Service agents appeared to look confused as they surrounded the vehicle
Armed officers and Secret Service agents surround the SUV as Trump is placed into the vehicle
There appeared to be frantic scenes as the SUV drove Trump away
Secret Service raced to the stage to protect Trump after shots were fired
Trump’s campaign said he was raced to hospital after the shooting, but is ‘fine’
‘We will have Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and other appropriate officials from DHS and the FBI appear for a hearing before our committees ASAP.’
The Secret Service has agreed to brief the House Oversight Committee about the attack.
‘He (Trump) does get a very robust former protection detail that is with him all the time. But he doesn’t necessarily get all of the different assets that are available. So, I think that there are some aspects of this incident that are going to be investigated,’ retired Secret Service Supervisor Bobby McDonald told Reuters.
‘The Secret Service will now look at what happened and how that they can again develop and continue to enhance their protective methodologies to make sure that things like this do not happen in the future.’
Former Navy SEAL Rep. Ryank Zinke, R-Mont., who has experience in setting perimeters in combat zones, said the shooter being able to access a ‘nearby roof’ to take aim at Trump was an ‘absolute failure of security.’
And House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told DailyMail.com in a statement that he plans to hold a hearing with the Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to get to the bottom of the failures.
The House Homeland Security Committee also released a statement indicating their desire to hold a hearing with the Secret Service.
The committee’s messages indicate what could be the beginning of a deluge of congressional action over the attempted assassination of the former president.
In a post to Truth Social, Trump said his thoughts are with the family of the rally attendee who was killed as he offered details of the shooting
Trump grabbed at the side of his head as he appeared to be hit
The Secret Service said in a statement it ‘has implemented protective measures and the former President is safe’
Witnesses hug after seeing the assassination attempt
An emergency room doctor at the Trump rally said he performed CPR on a member of the crowd after the shooting
‘There are many questions and Americans demand answers,’ Comer said. ‘I have already contacted the Secret Service for a briefing and am also calling on Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing.
‘The Oversight Committee will send a formal invitation soon.’
And within hours Comer officially organized a hearing with U.S. Secret Service brass for Monday July 22.
The committee ‘has initiated an investigation into today’s assassination attempt,’ he writes to Director Cheatle.
Democrat Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., also released a statement Saturday calling for an investigation.
‘The security failures surrounding the attempted assassination of a presidential candidate demand an investigation,’ he wrote.
‘The federal government must constantly learn from security failures in order to avoid repeating them – especially when those failures have implications for the Nation.’
Zinke continued to detail the security failure in a post on X.
‘I cannot think of a single time where a point of elevation so close in range would have been accessible and not already occupied by security forces.’
‘There will be a thorough investigation,’ Zinke continued. ‘The American people and our leadership deserve better.’
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., similarly demanded that the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hold a hearing on the attempt on Trump’s life by August 1, according to a Saturday night statement.
President Biden said at a press conference that there is ‘no place in America for this kind of violence’
President Biden said in a statement that American ‘must unite as one nation’ in response to the horrific scenes.
‘I have been briefed on the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania. I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well,’ the White House said in a statement.
‘I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information.’
In a press conference later in the evening, Biden described the incident as ‘sick’, and said there is ‘no place in America for this kind of violence.’
‘I hope I get to speak to him tonight,’ Biden said of his 2024 opponent.
