WHAT WE KNOW … On the scene … Multiple shots rang out shortly after 6:15 p.m., only minutes into Trump’s remarks at the Butler Farm Show grounds in rural western Pennsylvania. Trump grabbed his right ear and dropped to the ground as screams could be heard from the crowd. As Meridith McGraw and Natalie Allison write, “He remained down for about a minute, surrounded by agents. When he stood back up later, supported by agents, he appeared injured and blood was on his face. The former president gave a fist pump as he was ushered off the stage and whisked away in an SUV.” Among the witnesses was DAVID McCORMICK, the Republican Senate nominee in Pennsylvania, who was seated in the front row and described the scene to POLITICO: “All the sudden shots started to crack, someone behind me appears to have been shot. … There’s lots of blood, and then the Secret Service were all over President Trump.” Secret Service spokesman ANTHONY GUGLIELMI confirmed in a statement that “a suspected shooter fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside of the rally venue.” Secret Service personnel, he said, “neutralized the shooter, who is now deceased.” Authorities have not identified the shooter or the deceased and injured victims. Citing “law enforcement officials,” the AP reports that the shooting is being investigated as an “attempted assassination of the former president and presumptive Republican nominee.” Per NYT: An “AR-15-type semiautomatic rifle” was recovered “from a deceased white male they believe was the gunman at the scene, according to two law enforcement officials.” Federal authorities are “running an emergency trace on the weapon using its national firearms purchasing database.” The reactions … Trump posted to his Truth Social account less than three hours after the shooting, thanking law enforcement and extending condolences to the rally goers who were shot. “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. I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” Trump added. “I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!” President JOE BIDEN, who was at his Delaware beach home for the weekend, was in Saturday mass as the shooting took place. He was briefed on the situation after, released a statement later in the evening and then offered brief on-camera remarks. “There’s no place in America for this kind of violence,” he said. “It’s sick. We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this.” Asked one question — about whether this was an assassination attempt — he said, “I have an opinion but I don’t have any facts. So I want to make sure we have all the facts before I make any more comments.” More from Elena Schneider and Myah Ward The White House said tonight that Biden and Trump have spoken, albeit with no details of what they discussed. Biden returned to the White House tonight, where tomorrow morning “he will receive an updated briefing from homeland security and law enforcement officials.”
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