Former President Donald Trump was the target of an apparent assassination attempt early this evening during his speech at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Gunfire rang out as Trump spoke. Trump was conscious and escorted from the stage by Secret Service and appeared to be bleeding from near his right ear.
Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger told ABC News, and other outlets are reporting, that one rally attendee died and that the alleged shooter was killed. President Joe Biden addressed the media a little after 8 p.m. ET, saying, “There is no place for this kind of violence in America. It’s sick. It’s sick.” The shooting is being investigated as an assassination attempt. In a statement, the Trump campaign said the former president “is fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility. More details will follow.” Trump posted to Truth Social, saying he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.” He also thanked Secret Service and law enforcement and extended condolences to the family of the person who died.
Here at The Dispatch, we will have a special edition of The Morning Dispatch tomorrow after we gather our own reporting on the issue. We will be careful and methodical in our reporting. We are already seeing irresponsible speculation about this horrific event. We won’t contribute to it. We are praying for a full recovery for President Trump—and praying for our country.
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