Shock presidential campaign in America. During a rally in Butler, IN Pennsylvania, Donald Trump he was hit by shots that wounded him in one ear. He was immediately removed from the stage and saved by escorts before being taken to hospital with a trickle of blood pouring from his right ear. He left hospital shortly afterwards and official sources say he is "doing well". Before being taken away by security he raised a fist amid shouts of encouragement from his supporters.
But the toll of the shots is tragic: a sniper from Secret Service he killed thebomber, who is a white twenty-year-old, and a supporter of the former President was killed. Two other people were seriously injured in the crowd.
The President Joe Biden he immediately called Trump and said: “There is no room for this in America violence“. Certainly the shots at Trump, the dead and wounded mark with blood one of the most difficult American presidential campaigns.
The suspect: identified as Republican
The man suspected of shooting Donald Trump is a twenty-year-old white man from Pennsylvania: Thomas Matthew Crooks. According to the FBI, which confirmed the man's identity, it was attempted murder. The attacker had no criminal record and was registered as a Republican Party voter. It also turns out a $15 donation to the party. According to the New York Times, Crook was a 2022 graduate of Bethel Park High School and received a $500 award as part of a math and science initiative. The attacker had no identification documents with him and the authorities used the analysis of biometric data and DNA. According to NBC News, photos of the suspect's body show a gray T-shirt promoting a YouTube channel dedicated to guns.
The motive is not yet known at the moment. According to the New York Times, the weapon it was an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. According to the Washington Post, the "20-year-old from Bethel Park" was stationed on the roof of a small building about 400 meters north of the stage from which Trump was speaking. The boy, who appears to have no military training, was neutralized by the Rangers. The position of his body would correspond to the origin of the shots. According to the police, it is not "a given" that he was a "lone wolf".
“A security failure”
There are those who argue that this is a security failure. The FBI was not aware of any threats to Donald Trump's life. Secret Service protection for Trump had recently been increased, as always happens as a candidate nears his party's nomination and convention, which begins Monday in Milwaukee. It is not clear how the sniper managed to position himself, unseen, on a roof outside the perimeter of the rally but still close enough. The rally began at 6pm local time (midnight in Italy): the two-three shots that wounded Trump in the face and ear went off after 10-15 minutes.
Von der Leyen: “Deeply shocked”
The president of the European Commission Ursula Von er Leyen said she was "deeply shocked" by the shooting that occurred during a rally of former US president Donald Trump in Pennsylvania. “I am deeply shocked by the shooting that occurred at former President Trump's campaign rally. I wish Donald Trump a speedy recovery and offer my condolences to the family of the innocent victim,” she wrote on x. “Political violence – she continued – has no place in a democracy”.
The accusations against Biden: “Ridiculous hysteria against Trump”
While Biden immediately condemned the violence, the Senator JD Vance, considered a possible choice as Donald Trump's deputy, together with other Republican leaders, pointed the finger at Biden and the Democrats for the attempt to assassinate Trump. “For weeks, Democratic leaders have fueled aridiculous hysteria according to which Donald Trump's re-election victory would be the end of democracy in America", said the number two of the Grand Old Party in the Chamber, the Italian-American Steve Scalise, himself seriously injured during a shooting in 2017 whose perpetrator , killed by the police, belonged to several anti-republican groups. “Clearly we have seen far-left crazies act out with violent rhetoric in the past. This inflammatory rhetoric must stop,” he added. “Joe Biden sent the orders,” Georgia Congressman Mike Collins wrote on X.
