FBI confirms Trump was hit by bullet during Pennsylvania rally
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has finally confirmed that during the election rally in Pennsylvania, it was a bullet that wounded Donald Trump in the ear. "What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle," states the FBI's statement released on Friday.
27 July 2024 07:21
On 13 July, Donald Trump became the target of a failed assassination attempt conducted by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who shot at him from a distance of approximately 135 metres during the election rally in Pennsylvania.
On Thursday, the FBI director said during a Congressional hearing that, to his knowledge, it is unclear whether Trump was shot or if a teleprompter fragment "grazed his ear". "No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel," responded the presidential candidate to the FBI chief's suggestions.
On Friday, the FBI issued a statement confirming that Donald Trump was wounded by a bullet. "What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle," reads the statement.
"Bullet for democracy"
The FBI is investigating the failed assassination attempt during which one person died, and two were injured. The shooter was also shot dead by the Secret Service.
"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, so I realized then what was happening," Trump wrote a few hours after the incident in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump stated that he "took a bullet for democracy".
Ronny Jackson, who was Trump's personal physician at the White House, also said "There is absolutely no evidence that it was anything other than a bullet."