A few short minutes after Trump took the stage, shots rang out

Republican presidential candidate and former US president Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents as he leaves the stage at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Republican presidential candidate and former US president Donald Trump is surrounded by US Secret Service agents as he leaves the stage at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

At 6:02 pm Saturday, to the strains of “God Bless the USA,” former president Donald Trump took the stage at fairgrounds in Butler, Pennsylvania, waving at the cheering crowd and settling into his regular rally speech under a scorching midsummer sun.

A few short minutes later, Trump pointed to a projection of a chart that showed a spike in illegal border crossings under the man he’s running against, President Joe Biden. “That chart’s a couple of months old,” Trump told the crowd. “And if you want to see something really sad —”

That’s when the shots rang out, at least five. Trump clutched his ear as dark-suited Secret Service agents dashed toward him. He dropped to the ground as the agents yelled, “Get down!” The thousands of rallygoers packed into the field in front of him moved as one, dropping down as silence spread across the grass, punctuated only by an occasional scream.

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