New footage has revealed the dramatic seconds after former President Donald Trump was shot in the head, as Secret Service agents carried him off the stage and into his vehicle with only one hand protecting his head.
Just moments after 20-year-old Thomas Crooks attempted to assassinate the presidential candidate at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday night, chaos erupted as security officers rushed to bring the 78-year-old to safety.
Eyewitness footage first shows an officer dressed in a black suit and sunglasses running up to Trump’s black armored Chevrolet and holding the door open as he awaits the former president’s arrival from the stage.
The camera then pans to the red stage and looks out at hundreds of bewildered rally-goers as Trump is wrestled to the ground and shielded by the bodies of at least nine officers.
Two armed police officers in black protective gear and camouflage also took the stage as they communicated with Secret Service agents and assessed a safe route to get Trump to safety.
New footage shows the seconds after the chaotic shooting of former President Donald Trump before he is taken off the stage
A team of at least nine Secret Service agents surrounded Trump as he was taken from the stage to his armored Chevrolet.
Without any other head protection, one officer was seen shielding the politician’s head with only his bare hand, moments after he was shot in the ear.
Tensions rose as officers reluctantly lifted the injured politician to his feet, and Trump supporters cautiously looked around and spoke to officers as they tried to figure out what had happened.
After a few seconds of shock from the crowd, Trump is seen fully up and standing with several agents around him.
But this doesn’t stop the former president from defiantly raising his fist in the air and memorably shouting “Fight!” to the crowd, before clenching his fist three times.
The gesture sent the crowd into a frenzy, with footage showing them jumping into the air and cheering the injured candidate.
Trump’s show of force didn’t last long, however, as the Secret Service acted quickly to push him down the steps of the stage.
As the group ran down the catwalk, adorned with the American flag and amid frenzied fans, they crowded around the bleeding former president before one raised a hand to protect Trump’s head.
No other protection was used to cover his head as he crouched down and ran to his car surrounded by his anxious team of security personnel.
Finally, as he reaches the door of the vehicle, Trump raises his fist one last time in a brave speech to the crowd before he is shoved into the backseat and rushed to the hospital.
Trump returned safely to his car before being rushed to the hospital for treatment of his gunshot wound.
He defiantly raised a close-up in the air in a show of force that sent the crowd into a frenzy before he was sped away from the campaign rally.
On Sunday, the FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
He was shot dead by Secret Service moments after firing at least eight shots in the direction of the former president.
This raised serious questions about whether the two Secret Service sniper teams had completely failed to detect the shooter until it was too late and how Crooks was able to fire so many shots before being killed.
A witness to the murder said he warned Secret Service agents about a man with a rifle on a nearby roof minutes before they opened fire.
The witness, named as Greg Smith, told DailyMail.com that he saw the suspected gunman climb onto a roof outside the event and was baffled by the lack of action by officers.
“I was thinking, ‘Why is Trump still talking? Why hasn’t he been removed from the stage?'” she said. “And all of a sudden, five shots rang out.”
Federal campaign finance records revealed the gunman was a registered Republican who had previously made a $15 donation to the liberal political action committee ActBlue on Jan. 20, 2021, the day of Biden’s inauguration.
Explosive devices were later found in his vehicle and home after his father, Matthew Crooks, 53, legally purchased the AR-15 his son used to try to assassinate Trump.
The FBI on Sunday identified Thomas Crooks, 20, as the shooter. He was shot dead by the Secret Service moments after firing at least eight shots in Trump’s direction, striking him in the ear.
A remote detonator was seen next to Thomas Crooks’ body and cell phone after he was fatally shot.
Law enforcement personnel stand over the body of Thomas Matthews Crooks on a rooftop near the Trump rally on Saturday
As Trump raised his fist toward the crowd, he shouted, “Fight!” prompting the crowd to rise to their feet and cheer.
Police snipers return fire after shots were fired as Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump was speaking at a campaign event.
The gunman killed one rally-goer, revealed to be Corey Comperatore, and seriously wounded two others, including David Dutch, 57, a Navy veteran.
Although his assassination attempt was unsuccessful, Crooks opened fire on Trump but only managed to graze his ear.
Crooks, who graduated from high school just two years ago, parked his vehicle near the rally site in Butler on Saturday before climbing to the roof of the glass building and taking aim at the former president.
Authorities say that after police received multiple reports of suspicious packages near where the shooter parked his car, it prompted them to send in bomb technicians.
It was revealed today that a remote detonator was found on the suspected killer’s body along with his cell phone after he was fatally shot.
An image first published by Pittsburgh’s WPXI He showed a rectangular gray device with a keypad similar to a television remote control, next to the gunman’s cell phone.
The station also posted a photograph of Crooks, wearing a T-shirt from the popular YouTube channel Demolition Ranch, taken by a law enforcement officer minutes before the shooting occurred.
Nicole Ford from Channel 11who obtained the exclusive photo, revealed that police officers saw Crooks outside the single-story AGR International building from where he shot the former president.
This new development comes as Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle faces fresh questions after local law enforcement officials directly contradicted her claim that a Beaver County sniper team was stationed at the same building from which Trump was shot.