Trump urges Americans to unite after assassination attempt

BETHEL PARK, Pennsylvania
Donald Trump called on Americans on Sunday to stand united after he was injured in an assassination attempt — a shocking incident that opened a dark new chapter in an already polarised US presidential race.
Trump was shot in the ear during a campaign rally, streaking the Republican presidential candidate’s blood across his face and prompting his security agents to swarm him, before he emerged and pumped his fist in the air, mouthing the words “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Hours after the incident, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it had identified the shooter in the assassination attempt as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Pennsylvania, US media reported early on Sunday.
Crooks and one rally attendee were killed and two other spectators were injured, the US Secret Service said in a statement.
The incident was being investigated as an assassination attempt, a source told Reuters.
“In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United,” Trump said in a statement on his Truth Social network, adding that Americans should not allow “evil to win”.
The Republican added that it was “God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening” and that he would “fear not”.
Incumbent US President Joe Biden has since spoken to Trump after the incident, according to a White House Official. Biden also spoke with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Butler Mayor Bob Dandoy, the official said.
Trump, 78, had just started his speech when the shots rang out. He grabbed his right ear with his right hand, then brought his hand down to look at it before dropping to his knees behind the podium before Secret Service agents swarmed and covered him.
He emerged about a minute later, his red “Make America Great Again” hat knocked off, and could be heard saying “wait, wait,” before agents ushered him into a vehicle.
“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform following the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles (50 kilometres) north of Pittsburgh. “Much bleeding took place.”
The shooter’s identity and motive were not immediately clear. Leading Republicans and Democrats quickly condemned the violence. The Trump campaign said he was “doing well”.
The shooting occurred less than four months before the November 5 election, when Trump faced an election rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden. Most opinion polls, including those by Reuters/Ipsos, show the two locked in a close contest.
Biden said in a statement: “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”
Republican US Representative Ronny Jackson of Texas told Fox News his nephew had been wounded at the rally.
“He was grazed in the neck. A bullet crossed his neck, cut his neck and he was bleeding,” Johnson said.