Former US President Donald Trump, who was shot in the ear in an attempted assassination on Saturday during an election rally, said he was looking forward to speaking in Wisconsin where the Republican National Convention will be held later this week. “In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand united, and show our true character as Americans, remaining strong and determined,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. This was Donald Trump’s second post since he survived an assassination attempt during his campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Pennsylvania as the “subject involved” in what it termed an attempted assassination. He was killed by Secret Service agents soon after he opened fire from the roof of a building about 140 metres from the stage where the former President was speaking. One person who attended the rally was killed and two other spectators were critically wounded, the Secret Service said. “I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear… I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place,” Trump said in his first post on Truth Social platform following the shooting. This attack marked the first shooting attack on a US president or major party candidate since the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. The shooting occurred less than four months before the November 5 election, when Trump faces an election rematch with his Democratic challenger and President Joe Biden. Biden also condemned the attack on his political opponent and said that there was no place for this kind of violence in America. “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it,” Biden said in a statement. Several world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also expressed shock and concern over the attack. Referring to Trump as his “friend”, PM Modi took to X and said he was deeply concerned by the attempted assassination of “his friend” Donal Trump. He also wished the former President, who was injured in the shooting, a speedy recovery. “Deeply concerned by the attack on my friend, former President Donald Trump. Strongly condemn the incident,” PM Mod wrote. “Violence has no place in politics and democracies. Wish him speedy recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the deceased, those injured and the American people
