At a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, former president Donald Trump was rushed off the stage after shots were fired. The Republican nominee was hit, clutching the side of his head, and Secret Service agents quickly tackled him. As Trump stood up, blood was seen gushing from his right ear. Witnesses claimed they had tried to warn police about a sniper on a nearby roof just moments before the gunfire.
Posting a witness video, Elon Musk demanded the resignations of Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle and the leader of Trump’s security detail. A witness told BBC News, “You could clearly see him with a rifle. We’re pointing at him. The police were running around on the ground. We were like, ‘Hey, there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle.’ And the police didn’t know what was going on.”
Musk shared the witness interview and tweeted, “The head of the Secret Service and the leader of this security detail should resign.” Social media users also posted images and videos of a man on a rooftop with what they described as a sniper rifle.
One user on X (formerly known as Twitter) claimed, “The shooter at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania can be seen dead on the roof of a nearby building, after being killed by U.S. Secret Service agents.” They shared a video showing a person on the roof.
Police have not yet confirmed these witness accounts. Meanwhile, Trump’s campaign and the Secret Service stated that the former president was “okay” and was at a medical facility.
President Biden condemned the attack, calling it “political violence” and saying, “There is no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick.”