Support truly
independent journalism
Donald Trump’s July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, began like any other - but changed minutes after the event started when shots rang out.
“Donald Trump was a hair’s breadth away from being assassinated,” Dr Joseph Meyn, who was watching the rally near the bleachers, told NewsNation. “Had he not looked to the left … he would have got hit directly in the head.”
Instead, Meyn said: “It looked like a piece of his ear got sliced off from one of the rounds.”
“It was pandemonium,” Todd Gerhart told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the moment shots rang out. “Everybody was running.”
No stranger to the Trump campaign trail, Gerhart was running his Make Honey Great Again stand, selling Trump-shaped 16-oz bottles of “Ultra MAGA” pure raw honey.
The honey vendor said he felt “sheer fear” when he heard the gunshots.
He added: “Why do you hate this man so much when he’s doing it for us? He’s not doing it for himself. He’s doing it for America.”
Several other witnesses have spoken out about the moment that the political rally descended into chaos – and the aftermath as terrified attendees sought to help victims and tried to flee to safety.
Follow our live blog for updates on the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump
A bullet struck the former president’s ear, prompting Trump to immediately duck to the floor, behind his podium. Secret Service agents swarmed the stage before rushing the former president to safety. A trail of blood dripping down his face, Trump defiantly pumped his fist in the air.
When the pops sounded, a wave of red-capped Trump supporters sitting behind the former president started screaming and ducking.
While everyone else was running, one rallygoer Jayme Karis, said that he was so shocked that he froze.
“I just kind of stood there trying to figure out what to do,” he told the outlet. “Is there going to be more shots? I was just kind of stunned.”
One spectator was killed in the shooting while another two were critically injured.
Rico Elmore said he desperately tried to help save the victim who had been shot in the head.
“I was in the bullpen area to the right of the stage when Trump was at the monitor speaking,” Rico Elmore told Scripps News. “We heard shots fired, and for everyone to get down. Being military myself, I yelled at everyone to get down.”
“I hopped over the barrier because they yelled for [a] medic. There was no way the medic [could] get to the guy who had been shot,” Elmore said. “I ran to the guy who had got shot in the head. And I held his head as he passed.”
“Nobody wants to see someone get shot. Nobody wants to hold someone’s head and brain matter and blood are trickling out … knowing that there’s nothing that you can do,” he told the outlet.
The suspected gunman, later identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead by authorities.
“Secret Service blew his head off,” a witness named Greg told the BBC. “They crawled up on the roof, they had their guns pointed at him to make sure he was dead, he was dead. And that’s it. It was over.”
But Greg claims he saw the shooter in the moments leading up to the devastation. He spotted him “bear crawling” on the roof of a nearby building before he opened fire.
“I’m standing there pointing at him for two to three minutes,” Greg said, explaining that he was trying to catch the attention of police and Secret Service to warn them about a gun-toting man nearing the venue. “We could clearly see him with a rifle.”
He continued: “Secret Service is looking at us from the top of the barn, I’m pointing at the roof... and next thing you know, five shots rang out.”
Karis predicted Trump will win in November — and that the attack will underscore his strength.
“It’s going to make his victory even better,” Karis told the Post-Gazette.
“He’s pushed through this much. Everybody’s trying to take him down, take him out, do whatever they can. It’s crazy.”
