At a Donald Trump rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, a man with a rifle was seen on a rooftop minutes before shots were fired in an attempt to assassinate the former president, a witness told the BBC.
Greg Smith, the witness, described seeing the man crawling on top of a building just outside the event on Friday evening. Smith pointed the gunman out to the police, but initially, the authorities seemed unaware of the threat due to the slope of the roof, and ignored his warnings.
Smith recounted his thoughts: “Why is Trump still speaking, why have they not pulled him off the stage?” Moments later, five shots were fired. The former president was immediately swarmed by Secret Service agents and escorted away. Trump was seen with blood on his face and later revealed that a bullet had pierced his ear.
“Why were there not secret service on all of these roofs? I mean, this is not a big place.”
The gunman was shot dead by Secret Service agents. Smith described the scene: “They crawled up on the roof, they had their guns pointed at him, made sure he was dead. He was dead, and that was it – it was over.” Anthony Guglielmi, a Secret Service spokesman, confirmed that agents had “neutralized the shooter” and responded quickly with protective measures. The incident is being investigated as an attempted assassination.
In the chaos, a crowd member was killed, and two others were critically injured. Smith, listening from outside the rally, had seen the gunman about five minutes into Trump’s speech and tried for several minutes to alert authorities. He criticised the security, calling it a “100% security failure.”
Another witness, Jason, who was inside the event, described the immediate reaction to the shots: “We see the Secret Service jump on Trump to protect him; everyone on the ground dropped down very quickly.” Jason saw Trump stand up with a bleeding ear, alive and breathing.
An emergency department doctor at the rally treated a crowd member for a gunshot wound to the head and recounted the scene to CBS News. He initially thought the shots were firecrackers until he heard someone scream that a person had been shot. The injured person was jammed between benches, and there was a significant amount of blood.
Smith later described the terror among the children present, including his own child, who was “crying and begging me to take him home” after the shooting. The traumatic experience left many children still terrified.
Extraordinary interview by the BBC on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. A witness to the shooting and eath of the assassin.
A must watch. pic.twitter.com/UovctiYqS2
— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) July 13, 2024
Yes, he said he saw the shooter way in advance and was alerting the authorities.
Trump had asked for more security detail but was denied.
I thought it was a hole in the top of his ear. I really think he should keep it like that. It beats those ugly earlobe plugs. Maybe some kind of jewelry? Maybe not, a bit too freaky for the leader of the “free world” probably a bit morbid too. But really remarkable.
Why did Secret Service leave Trump to speak when warned of the threat?
Why did Secret Service not protect Trump as well as they could’ve after the shooter was taken out?
Doesn’t feel right to me.
Because, what will happen because of this?
I love the guys cap with the bright orange fur sewn on to it. That is very funny, must get people’s attention. Good and bad!
And Trump is already at another engagement in New Jersey right now. I guess the hole in his ear would have been cauterised already from the bullet!
We all knew the democrats would sink this low.
I hope now that this leftie loser shooter is dead and luckily Trump still alive , that Trump gets the security he deserves.
The chap being interviewed nails it:
(1) Why were US SS not on all the roofs: It’s not a big area.
(2) Telling Police and US SS for minutes before and they did nothing: Assassin on roof 50ft away from witness.
I think now that “things” are going to start speeding up in the US.