'Let me get my...': Trump's words right after being shot
A microphone recording has shed light on the immediate aftermath of an assassination attempt on former United States President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The audio captures the chaos as shots were fired at Trump mid-speech, with Secret Service agents instructing him to evacuate. As the agent swooped in to cover and rush him to his SUV, he told them, "Let me get my shoes, let me get my shoes, let me get my shoes!"
We've got you, sir: Agents assure Trump
One of the agents then reassured Trump, "We've got you, sir," while another requested him to "hold onto your head; it's bloody." As they hustled him into the black SUV, the 76-year-old asked the agents, "Wait, wait," and raised his fist in a show of defiance. The crowd can be seen cheering "USA, USA" as the agents moved Trump from the stage, to which he repeatedly mouthed "Fight. Fight."
Listen to the recording here
Trump's personal account of assassination attempt
Shortly after the assassination attempt, Trump shared his personal experience on his Truth Social app. "I knew immediately that something was wrong....I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place," the GOP nominee wrote on his social media site. The shooting was the most serious assassination attempt on a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot at by a gunman in 1981.
Shooter identified, Trump's condition revealed
The assailant was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. Crooks, who was not a rally attendee, was killed by Secret Service agents, and an AR-style rifle was recovered at the scene. One attendee was also killed and two spectators were critically injured. According to the state's voter records, Crooks was a registered Republican. However, the motive behind the attack on the presumptive Republican presidential nominee remains unclear at the moment.
Trump had just started his speech
Trump had just begun his speech when the gunfire rang out. Crooks had positioned himself on the roof of a manufacturing plant more than 130 yards away from the stage. The shooter was quickly neutralized by Secret Service snipers, who returned fire from a nearby building's rooftop. According to the New York Post, the building where the sniper's body was recovered is part of AGR International, Inc., a supplier of automation equipment for the glass and plastic packaging sector.
