Assassination Attempt on Former President Trump

(ABC News/Butler, PA) Former President Donald Trump says he was shot in the ear after a gunman perched on the roof of a nearby building opened fire at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday — a harrowing incident that the FBI called an assassination attempt.

The shooting, which set the country on edge on the eve of the Republican National Convention, left one spectator dead, two others critically injured, and sparked chaos at the event.

As the former president spoke, shots crackled and Trump, hand to his ear, dropped to the ground where he was surrounded by agents before behind hustled off the stage into a waiting car amid the screams and confusion of the crowd.

The Secret Service, in a statement, said that a shooter “fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside of the rally venue” after which agents “neutralized the shooter, who is now deceased.”

The FBI early today (Sunday) identified the suspected gunman as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.

The early indication was that the shooter was a lone wolf.

A spokesperson for Trump said in a statement, “President Trump thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act. He is fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility.”

(Photo: ABC News)