BUTLER, Pa. — Former President Donald Trump was rushed off stage with blood on the side of his head and ear after shots were fired just minutes into his rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Trump is currently safe and expected to survive, according to two senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter.
One rally spectator is dead and a second is in critical condition, according to the Butler County district attorney. The shooter is dead, NBC News confirms.
Trump was about six minutes into his speech when he reached for the side of his face as popping sounds sounded throughout the rally. He then crouched down as Secret Service agents rushed the stage and surrounded him. He was quickly escorted to a vehicle, leaving the stage with agents on all sides.
Trump raised his fists in the air as he was escorted off the stage. The crowd applauded as the former president raised his arms.
Reporters at the scene saw smoke and heard what they initially thought were fireworks before everyone ducked and authorities surrounded Trump.
Screams from the audience echoed as the scene unfolded.
A doctor who attended the event told NBC News that he saw a man suffer a gunshot wound to the head and helped carry him away from the rally site. Speaking in a parking lot near the event, a mother and son attending the rally told NBC News they saw people in the crowd injured and taken away.
People remained at the scene for 10 to 15 minutes after Trump was taken away, after which they were told it was an active crime scene and all attendees were escorted out.
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Three senior law enforcement officials said they are investigating whether two other individuals in the crowd were shot at the rally. The threat was “contained”, according to authorities.
A secret service spokesperson said in a statement posted on X that “the former president is safe.”
“This is now an active Secret Service investigation and more information will be released when available,” agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi posted.
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said the former president “thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act.”
“He is fine and is being examined at a local medical center,” Cheung said. “More details to come.”
President Joe Biden, who is in Delaware over the weekend, said in a statement that he is praying for Trump. The president said he was informed about the shooting.
“I am grateful to know he is safe and well. I am praying for him and his family and all those who were at the rally as we await more information,” Biden said. “Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. We must come together as a nation to condemn it.”
The president will speak on camera Saturday night about the attack, according to a Biden aide.
Vice President Kamala Harris also received initial briefings, according to her office.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement posted on X that he was briefed by authorities. He condemned the attack as a “horrible act of political violence at a peaceful campaign rally”, saying it “has no place in this country and must be condemned unanimously and with force”.
The Biden campaign is aware of the situation and monitoring it, a senior spokesperson told NBC News.
In the minutes after the incident, politicians began posting on social media that they were praying for Trump, including vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida; and governor of North Dakota. Doug Burgum.
Donald Trump Jr., one of the president’s sons, wrote in a post to X that his father “will never stop fighting to save America.” His message was accompanied by a photo of Trump raising his fist with blood on his face.
Democrats also released statements expressing horror at the attack.
“I am horrified by what happened at Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania and relieved that former President Trump is safe,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement. post to X. “Political violence has no place in our country.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, condemned the attack in an X post.
“Violence directed at any political party or political leader is absolutely unacceptable,” Shapiro said. “It has no place in Pennsylvania or the United States.”
Shapiro added that he was briefed on the situation and that state police were on scene, working with federal and local partners.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged Americans to pray for Trump.
“Now is the time for every American who loves our country to turn away from division, renounce all violence, and unite in prayer for President Trump and his family,” Kennedy he said.
Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., who was shot by a gunman in 2011, released a statement condemning political violence.
“Political violence is scary. I know,” she said. “I hold former President Trump and all those affected by today’s indefensible act of violence in my heart. Political violence is un-American and never acceptable – ever.”
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., who was shot and injured in 2017 when a gunman opened fire on Republicans during a baseball practice, condemned the Democratic rhetoric that led to the attack.
“For weeks, Democratic leaders have been stoking ridiculous hysteria that Donald Trump’s reelection would be the end of democracy in America,” he said in a post to X. “Clearly we have seen far-left lunatics act on violent rhetoric in past. This incendiary rhetoric must stop.”
The Trump campaign is on a “total communications blackout,” according to a message sent to staff by James Blair, the political director of the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee.
“Everything is fine,” Blair wrote. “We don’t have any details to share at this time, but we will be coming back soon with more information.”
A Biden campaign official told NBC News that his campaign is also “pausing all outside communications and working to pull our television ads as quickly as possible.”
The Republican National Convention, where Trump will officially become the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, is set to begin on Monday.
This is a brand new story and will continue to be updated.
Dasha Burns and Jake Traylor are reporting from Butler, Pennsylvania; Megan Lebowitz from Washington, D.C.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
