A politician has described the bloody and gruesome scene he saw sitting behind Donald Trump after an assassination attempt left several people dead.
The tragedy occurred at Trump’s campaign event on Saturday night in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Halfway through the former president’s speech, gunshots rang out and Trump ducked before US Secret Service agents pounced on the 78-year-old.
David McCormick, a Republican candidate for the Pennsylvania Senate, recounted the horrific scene he saw immediately after the shooting.
Former President Trump helped off stage after being shot during campaign speech in Butler, Pennsylvania
“Unfortunately, someone who was behind me in the stands was injured,” he said in an interview with Fox News. “There was a lot of blood and the police arrived and helped get that person out of the stands so they could get the care they needed.”
“I’m not sure if there were more injuries or not,” he said.
McCormick had spoken at the podium moments before the event.
The shooting is being investigated as an attempted murder, according to local authorities, who have also confirmed the shooter’s death in the incident.
In addition, an assistant was also killed.
Two others are seriously injured, according to the Associated Press.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by Secret Service agents as he is led off the stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. The suspected shooter who wounded Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally is dead, US media reported Saturday, along with a bystander.
Dave McCormick, Republican candidate for the US Senate from Pennsylvania, arrives to speak at a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate, former US President Donald Trump.
McCormick was at the rally in support of Trump and to address the crowd of voters.
“There were several shots fired,” McCormick said. “And the crowd got on the ground and the Secret Service quickly arrived and attacked the president.”
“But there were separate shots and… it’s hard to say whether they came from one direction or from two different weapons.”
Footage from the demonstration where one suspect was seen dead shows an individual on the roof of a nearby building.
That roof was hundreds of feet from the stage where Trump spoke, next to where McCormick was sitting.
“I was sitting to the right of President Trump as he looked out into the crowd, and I was in the front row,” he said.
“I felt like some of the shots were coming from his left side, which would make sense because someone behind me was hit.”
Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump receives help from security personnel after gunshots were heard during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, US, July 13, 2024.
A man with a bloody shirt describes how he tried to help a shooting victim
A screenshot from a video shows the shooter being killed by the Secret Service, according to an agency source, CNN said, on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania, United States. An aide was also killed. Former US President Donald Trump is “doing OK” after he appeared injured on Saturday following gunfire reported at a rally in the US state of Pennsylvania
“It looked like at least some of them were coming from that side of the crowd,” he continued. “I couldn’t tell who it was, one or two shots, but there were seven or eight shots, one after the other.”
A witness told reporters he saw a man climb onto a nearby roof before the shots were heard.
Several congressional committees have begun investigating the “security failures” that led to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump by a gunman.
The fact that a gunman was able to come so close to taking Trump’s life is a terrifying security failure, lawmakers say.
Former Navy SEAL Rep. Ryank Zinke, R-Montana, says the fact that the shooter was able to access a “nearby rooftop” to target Trump is an “absolute failure of security.” He has experience protecting perimeters in combat zones and serving as a protectee at presidential events.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told DailyMail.com in a statement that he plans to hold a hearing with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to get to the bottom of the failures.
The House Homeland Security Committee also released a statement indicating its desire to hold a hearing with the Secret Service.
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump gestures as he is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents as he leaves the stage at a campaign rally.
The committee’s messages indicate what could be the beginning of a flood of action in Congress over the attempted assassination of the former president.
“There are many questions and the American people are demanding answers,” Comer said. “I have already contacted the Secret Service to request a briefing and am also asking Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear at a hearing.”
