How the assassination attempt on Donald Trump unfolded

Former president Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at his campaign rally on Saturday night, just days before he is set to be officially crowned the Republican party’s presidential candidate at the RNC.

Trump was struck in the ear by the bullet before he ducked down behind the stage podium and was protected by Secret Service agents.

One rally attendee was killed and two others seriously injured, before the gunman, a registered Republican voter, was shot dead by authorities.

Here’s how the attack played out:

Throuhgout Saturday, Trump attendees flocked to the outskirts of the 13,000-strong Pennsylvania city of Butler, 35 miles from Pittsburgh, for a rally that night.

The event was pitted as Trump’s final campaign event ahead of the Republican National Convention.

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Located at Butler Farm Show Grounds, a popular fairground located several miles outside of downtown Butler, the rally had been due to take place at 5pm on Saturday.

But, Trump didn’t take the stage until 6.03pm, emerging to the familiar sound of country singer Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA”.

The gunman, later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, had positioned himself on the roof of a nearby office building belonging to a glass research firm, Butler County’s district attorney told The Washington Post.

He was fewer than 140 metres away from both Trump and from Security Service snipers stationed on the roof of another building behind the former president.

One Trump supporter who had been listening to the speech from just outside the rally grounds told the BBC that he had tried to alert Secret Service agents to a rifle-wielding man he spotted “bear crawling” onto the roof prior to the shooting.

“I’m standing there pointing at him for two to three minutes,” he said. “Secret Service is looking at us from the top of the barn, I’m pointing at the roof ... and next thing you know, five shots rang out.”

Just around 15 minutes into Trump’s speech, as he pointed towards a chart depicting immigration levels, to the right of the stage, the gunman opened fire.

As the first three gunshots rung out, Trump grabbed his right ear before ducking behind the lectern in front of him.

Secret Service agents quickly leaped on top of him, as a further five shots could be heard ringing out.

The crowd also began to scream and duck for cover, as several more security officials reached the stage.

“I saw half the people around me start crying,” one man sitting behind Trump told The New York Times.

“And I started crying. I couldn’t stop crying … I thought I just saw the president get killed in front of my face.”

A Secret Service agent shot and killed the gunman, authorities confirmed.

In a broadcast feed, an agent was heard saying “shooter down” before security officials helped Trump to his feet.

The 78-year-old former president was heard on the microphone saying “let me get my shoes on”.

His face stained with blood, Trump repeatedly urged officials to “wait” as they tried to remove him from the stage, before thrusting his fist into the air and shouting “fight” three times.

Members of the crowd were heard chanting he word back to him and shouted: “USA! USA!”.

Trump’s motorcade left the rally site at 6.14pm, two minutes after the shooting started.

The FBI later confirmed that one audience member had died in the gunfire and a further two were critically injured.

The victims are yet to be publicly identified but Pennsylvania State Police confirmed that all three were adult men.

Texas congressman Ronny Jackson also said his nephew had been in the audience and was “grazed” in the neck by a bullet. He was treated in the medical tent at the scene.

In a statement issued several hours later, Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi confirmed the gunman was dead.

Crooks, a 20-year-old from the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, was registered to vote as a Republican, according to Pennsylvania’s voter database.

Federal campaign finance reports also show he previously made a $15 contribution to a Democratic-aligned political action committee called Progressive Turnout Project, in 2021.

Two hours on from the shooting, at 8.42pm, Trump spoke out for the first time on his Truth Social platform.

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through my skin,” he wrote.

“Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA.”

The former president was seen landing back in New Jersey later on Saturday night.

In a second post the following morning, Mr Trump said he believed “it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening” as he told his supporters to “stand united, and show our true character as Americans, remaining strong and determined, and not allowing evil to win”.