At 17:37, 'He will never stop fighting for the salvation of America' - Trump's children express themselves
The children of former President Donald Trump pay tribute and thank the agents who protected him. "He will never stop fighting for the salvation of America," writes Donald Trump Jr. on X about a photo of his father with a bloodied face raising his fist. Eric Trump shares the same photo on Instagram with a similar message in capital letters. In an Instagram story, Tiffany Trump thanks God for her father's life. "Political violence is never the answer," she writes, thanking the law enforcement and the Secret Service and honoring the victims. "As you saw today, my father is a fighter, and he will continue to fight for you and the USA." Ivanka Trump, who previously announced that she would not participate in her father's presidential campaign this year, also thanks the bodyguards and writes: "I continue to pray for our country," and: "I love you, Dad, today and always."
17:15 The suspect had explosives in his car
According to the "Wall Street Journal," the alleged attacker had explosives in his car. The car near the crime scene was secured, reports the newspaper, citing unidentified sources. The weapon used in the attack was bought by the father of the alleged attacker, reports the newspaper and ABC News further. It is said to be an AR-15 rifle. The rifle was developed in the 1950s, initially for the military. The rifle is externally almost identical to the M16 rifle that Colt sold to the military. The AR-15 is the civilian version. Technically speaking, continuous firing is not possible with this weapon. Skilled shooters can, however, fire many shots in very short time.
16:59 Melania Trump also speaks out
After the attempted assassination of former US President Donald Trump, his wife Melania also speaks out. The slain guard was a "Monster," she says at X, who tried to "extinguish Donald's passion, his laughter, his inventiveness, his love of music, and his enthusiasm." When she saw that a bullet had grazed her husband, she realized that her life and that of her son Barron were "on the brink of a devastating change." Melania Trump also thanks the personal protectors of her husband.
16:26 "They are not behind me, they are behind you" - Trump campaign starts fundraising appeal
In the opinion of Brad Bannon, a democratic strategist, the incident could be used by Trump. It fits the narrative of the former US President that the country is on the wrong track. "The attempted attack on Trump generates sympathy for him," Bannon says. "It also confirms the belief of his voters that something fundamental is wrong in this country." Trump's appearances at the four-day Republican nomination convention in Milwaukee, which begins on Monday, could be fueled by the attack. "If the country wasn't a powder keg before, it is now," says Chip Felkel, a Republican political analyst who is not a Trump supporter. Hours after the attack, Trump's campaign starts a fundraising appeal via text message. "They are not behind me, they are behind you," reads the message to voters.
16:08 Concerns before the Party: Republicans working with 40 law enforcement agenciesRepublican Party chairman Michael Whatley assures that the law enforcement agencies are working intensely to ensure security at the upcoming Republican Party convention in Milwaukee. They are working with 40 different law enforcement agencies, according to Whatley on Fox News, but he did not specify the exact preparations.
15:44 Top Trump Campaign Advisors: "Please report anything suspicious immediately"Top advisors for Donald Trump's campaign team advise caution. "We are increasing armed security presence 24/7 with officers on site. Additional security checks are being conducted. Our top priority is to ensure the safety of all staff," quotes the "Washington Post" Trump campaign advisors Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles from a joint memo. "We urge you to recognize the political polarization in this heated election. Please report anything suspicious immediately to the leadership or on-site security team," it continues.
15:24 Witnesses describe chaotic scenes at Trump assassination attemptDuring Trump's campaign speech in Pennsylvania, shots were fired, causing chaos and panic. Witnesses speak of speculation about fireworks, the sound of gunshots, gunfire on the roof, and the moment Trump fell to the ground.
14:58 Leading Republican: "We need to tone down the rhetoric"The President of the US House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, is working to calm nerves. "We need to tone down the rhetoric," he says on MSNBC. "We need to lower the temperature in this country."
14:30 Expert: Trump assassination attempt is an opportunity for Biden
14:03 Trump calls for reconciliation"It's more important than ever that we come together," writes Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform. He is already looking forward to speaking in Wisconsin "to our great country" this week. The Republican National Convention is taking place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from Monday to Thursday. Trump writes further, "I pray for the wounded, and we hold the memory of the fallen civilian in our hearts." Trump had already called for unity in his inaugural address as US President in January 2017.
12:58 NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg shocked by assassination attemptNATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is shocked by the attack on Trump. "I am shocked by the attempted assassination of former President Trump," Stoltenberg writes on X. He wishes Trump a quick recovery and is thinking of the victims. Political violence has no place in democracies. The NATO allies are standing together to defend freedom and values.
12:13 Video shows seconds between the shooter's shots and the Secret Service's shotsThe American gossip news site TMZ shows a video in which it appears that both the shooter's shots and the shots that likely saved Trump's life can be heard. The attack caused panic among the onlookers. The recording was made from outside the area where the rally was taking place, according to TMZ.
11:40 Secret Service refutes Republican claim The Secret Service has refuted the claim that they had denied additional security resources to Trump in the last few months. "The allegation that a member of the former President's security team requested additional security resources that were denied by the Secret Service or the Home Security Ministry is absolutely false," said Secret-Service-Spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi. In fact, the Secret Service had recently increased security measures.
Few hours after the attack, Republican Representative Michael Waltz stated that he had "reliable sources" who said that there had been repeated requests for stronger secret service protection for President Trump. Waltz did not provide any evidence.
11:16 Steinmeier wishes Trump swift recovery Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier condemned the attack and expressed condolences to the family of the victim's family: "I condemn the attack on the 45th US President, Donald J. Trump," Steinmeier wrote in a statement. "Violence has no place in our democracy - not in America, not here. We can all contribute: Let us respect violence in political disputes! Let us push back hatred and hate speech from election campaigns and debates! Democracy tolerates sharp controversies - but violence destroys democracy. Donald J. Trump and the injured person wish a swift recovery. My deepest condolences go to the family of the victim."
10:32 Expert: "Trump produced that image directly, instinctively" Within seconds of the shots being fired, Donald Trump is seen getting up, covered in blood, and raising his fist at Secret Service agents. Political scientist Thomas Jaeger sees the "master of political marketing" at work here. It remains to be seen if Trump will be able to continue spinning his "witch hunt" narrative.
10:10 Sharpshooter seemed to have noticed the assassin just before the first shots A video posted on X shows a sharpshooter at the Trump rally in exactly the moment the shots were fired. Sharpshooters are deployed at such events by the Secret Service to secure the surroundings - which apparently did not go well in this case. The sharpshooter seems to be observing something or someone through his scope. He recoils, just before the shots are heard, suggesting that he became aware of the shooter as a threat in that moment. Shortly thereafter, the shooter was shot.
09:23 Participant warned security before the attack Before the shots were fired at Trump's campaign rally in Butler, participants had noticed a man with a rifle on a roof near the venue. One of them, Greg Smith, told security personnel: "Hey man, there's a guy with a rifle on the roof", he later told the BBC. The response was: "Ha, what?", as if the security forces did not know what was going on. "I thought: Why is Trump still speaking, why didn't they take him off the stage? ... The next thing I heard were five gunshots."
09:15 Scholz condemns attempted attack on Trump as despicableGerman Chancellor Olaf Scholz comments on the attack against former US Presidential candidate Donald Trump: "The attack on US Presidential candidate Donald Trump is despicable. I wish him a quick recovery. My thoughts are also with the people who were affected by this act of violence. Such acts threaten democracy."
08:28 Photographer takes picture of possible projectileNew York Times photographer Doug Mills apparently took a picture at the exact moment a bullet narrowly missed Donald Trump. Michael Harrigan, a retired FBI agent, told the newspaper that "the photo could very well show the air displacement from a bullet." Generally, it is possible to photograph a flying bullet, Harrigan added. Mills used a Sony digital camera at the Trump rally, which can take up to 30 pictures per second. The photo was taken with a shutter speed of 1/8000 seconds.
08:00 Alleged shooter registered as a RepublicanThe FBI has identified the suspect. He is a man named Thomas Matthew Crooks. The 20-year-old suspect, who was killed during the shooting attempt, is from the small town of Bethel Park in the US state of Pennsylvania, an hour south of Butler, where the Trump rally took place. Crooks is registered as a Republican. According to reports he donated $15 to a Democratic donation organization on the day of Biden's inauguration in January 2021.
The New York Post notes that Crooks donated when he was 17 years old. He registered as a member of the Republican Party in September 2021, when he turned 18.
07:46 Expert: "Secret Service needs to answer some questions"Donald Trump, as a former President and candidate, is under the protection of the Secret Service. There are highest security measures in place at all campaign events, as Obama's former campaign advisor Julius van de Laar reports. It remains to be clarified how such an attacker was able to approach Trump.
07:38 World leaders react with shockWorld leaders reacted shocked to the attack on former President Trump. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen writes on X, she is deeply shocked, wishes Trump a quick recovery, and expresses her condolences to the innocent victim's family. "Political violence has no place in a democracy," writes von der Leyen. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expresses similar sentiments. "My thoughts are with former President Trump, the participants of the event, and all Americans."
The United Nations also condemns the attack on Trump. "The Secretary-General strongly condemns this act of political violence," the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres says. "He wishes President Trump a swift recovery." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shares that he is "appalled" by the news of the attack. "Such violence has no justification and no place in the world. Never should violence prevail." Zelensky also wishes Trump a swift recovery.
Already on Saturday evening (local time), Biden expressed his gratitude that Trump was safe and in good health. In the US, "there is no place for this kind of violence."
07:21 Open Questions to the Secret ServiceFBI Agent Kevin Rojek speaks at a press conference and finds it "surprising" that the protector was able to fire multiple shots. In response to questions about security measures, he states that such questions should be answered by the Secret Service. The Secret Service is not a secret service, but rather responsible for the security of US Presidents and former US Presidents.
"They conduct the initial security assessments and determine where the various security locations should be," Rojek says. "And they are the ones responsible for securing the crime scene." A representative of the Secret Service is not present at the press conference. "Nobody was available," Rojek says.
07:04 Trump in New Jersey, apparently unharmedA Trump spokesperson posts a video showing Trump leaving an airport in New Jersey without assistance. His injured ear is not visible in the video. The Republicans have announced that the nomination convention will take place as planned; the convention takes place from Monday to Thursday in Milwaukee. There, Trump will be officially nominated as the Republican presidential candidate. US President Biden stated that the Democrats would stop all campaign ads as soon as possible.
06:50 Shooter fired from a roof near the rallyAnthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the Secret Service, says the suspect fired "multiple shots at the podium" and was located "on an elevated position outside the event perimeter." This suggests that a roof near the gathering could be meant.
06:39 Shooter is reportedly a 20-year-old from PennsylvaniaThe person who shot Trump is a 20-year-old man from Pennsylvania, according to a source familiar with the investigation of the "Washington Post." The FBI officially states that they have not yet identified the shooter, but are "close" to doing so. The shooter is deceased. According to Pennsylvania police, it is too early to say whether it was a lone gunman. However, there is no indication of "any further threat."
06:25 Media: Trump discharged from hospitalTrump was discharged from the hospital late Saturday evening (local time) according to a report by the news agency Bloomberg.
06:01 FBI confirms attempted murder against ex-President Trump at rallyThe US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has classified the incident at a campaign rally in the US state of Pennsylvania as an "attempted murder" against former President Donald Trump. "This is an attempt to assassinate our former President Donald Trump," FBI Agent Kevin Rojek says in Butler, the location of the rally. According to official reports, Trump was injured in the ear by the gunfire, and in addition to the alleged shooter, a bystander was killed and two others were seriously injured.
04:41 Biden phones Trump after attackUS President Joe Biden personally phoned Trump after the attack, the White House announced, without disclosing the contents of the conversation. On Sunday, Biden will be briefed by law enforcement agencies on the status of the investigation.
03:58 Republicans plan to hold convention despite Trump attackThe US Republicans plan to hold their nomination convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as scheduled this week, according to a joint statement from the party and Trump's campaign team. The Republicans will gather in Milwaukee starting on Monday to officially nominate the 78-year-old Trump as their presidential candidate.
03:54 Shooter fired from "elevated position"During the attack on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, the alleged shooter opened fire from an "elevated position" outside the event venue. One person was killed and two others were seriously injured, according to the Secret Service. Initially, it was reported that one person had been severely injured.
02:55 Trump: I was hit by a bullet in my earFormer US President Donald Trump has reportedly been injured in the ear during the attack at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. "I was hit by a bullet that went through the upper part of my right ear," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
00:33 Shots fired at Trump: Secret Service agents escort ex-president off stageFormer US President Donald Trump was escorted off the stage at a campaign event in Pennsylvania by Secret Service agents after shots were fired. In images, Trump can be seen with a bloody ear and raised fist.
According to recent reports, Joe Biden has expressed his relief that former President Donald Trump is safe following the assassination attempt.
Despite the incident, Donald Trump Jr. and his siblings have reaffirmed their father's commitment to fight for the future of America.
