A chilling photo taken by New York Times photographer Doug Mills captured the harrowing moment a bullet narrowly missed former President Donald Trump’s head at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The image shows a gray line just above Trump’s left shoulder, a mere fraction of an inch from his head.
The incident unfolded as Trump was speaking at the rally. Mills’ subsequent photos showed Trump checking his right ear, and another photo revealed blood on his hand after he had removed it from his ear. Trump himself described the terrifying experience on Truth Social, stating that a bullet had pierced the upper part of his right ear, causing a “whizzing sound” and feeling like it was “ripping through the skin.”
In a statement, Trump thanked the United States Secret Service and law enforcement for their swift response to the shooting, which resulted in the death of one person and left another badly injured. He extended his condolences to the families of the victims and lamented the fact that such an act of violence could occur in the country.
Ivanka Trump, the former president’s daughter, expressed gratitude to the Secret Service agents who quickly responded to the shooting and thanked those who had expressed concern for her father. She also continued to pray for the country.
Salena Zito, a reporter for Truth Voices, was at the rally and reported that Trump had been speaking for about six minutes before the sound of gunshots rang out. The Secret Service immediately surrounded Trump to protect him, and shortly after, escorted him to his motorcade for transportation to a hospital.
President Joe Biden condemned the violence, describing it as “sick” and emphasizing the need for the country to unite. The Biden campaign also announced that it was pausing all outbound communications and working to remove its television ads as quickly as possible.
