A timeline of the assassination attempt on former President Trump
Former President Donald Trump was the target of a attempted murder at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, where panic broke out as a bloodied Trump was surrounded by Secret Service members and dragged into his vehicle.
A former fire chief go to the meeting with family was killed, as was the shooter. Two other people were seriously injured.
An AP analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos from the scene of the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, as well as satellite images of the location, shows the shooter got astonishingly close to the podium where the former president spoke.
Here’s what’s known so far about the timeline of the shooting.
Trump takes the stage to the sounds of “God Bless the USA.” He waves to the cheering crowd and begins his customary speech, with spectators both in front of him and behind him on daisies.
— After the rally participants noticed a man climbing on the roof of a nearby building, According to two police officers, a local police officer climbs onto the roof.
—A man identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks points his gun at the officer, who runs down the ladder, the officers said.
— Crooks then fires rapidly, according to officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
— Trump shows off border crossing figures when the gunfire starts.
— As the first pop rings out, Trump says, “Oh,” and he raises his hand to his right ear and looks at it, before quickly crouching to the floor behind his lectern.
— Secret Service agents rush to the podium and climb on top of the former president to protect him.
— Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old former fire chief who attended the rally, is shot dead. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Sunday that Comperatore used his body as a shield to protect his wife and daughter.
— Secret Service snipers return fire, firing at Crooks.
— The video shows Trump standing up and reaching with his right hand to his face, which is smeared with blood.
—As Trump rises, pumps his right fist at the audience.
— He appears to say the word “fight” loudly twice to his supporters, prompting loud cheers and then chants of “USA. USA. USA.”
Trump turns to the crowd and raises his fist in the air again, just before officers put him in a vehicle and take him to a local hospital.
The Secret Service says “the former president is safe.”
Trump posted on his social media site that he was wounded in the upper part of his right ear. “I knew right away something was wrong, I heard a whooshing sound, gunfire, and immediately felt the bullet rip through my skin,” he said.
Trump’s private jet lands at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Video posted by an assistant showed the former president stepping off the plane, flanked by U.S. Secret Service agents and heavily armed members of the agency’s counter-assault team. It was an unusually visible display of power by his protective detail.
Trump travels to his private golf club in nearby Bedminster, New Jersey, for an overnight stay.
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Stengle contributed to this report from Dallas. Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo contributed to this report from Chicago and writer Colleen Long contributed to this report from Washington.