A witness who was just outside the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally where Donald Trump was injured in a shocking shooting Saturday night said he spotted a rifle-wielding man “bear crawling” onto the roof of a nearby building just before the sound of gunfire rang through the crowd.
“We can see him from right here! He’s crawling,” the witness, identified only as Greg, said he told police and Secret Service in an interview with the BBC.
“I’m thinking to myself, ‘Why is Trump still speaking? Why have they not pulled him off the stage?’” he told the BBC reporter.
“We’re pointing at the guy crawling up the roof,” the supporter, who was wearing a red Trump 2024 visor, added. “We could clearly see him with a rifle.”
“I’m standing there pointing at him for two to three minutes,” he continued. “Secret Service is looking at us from the top of the barn, I’m pointing at the roof…and next thing you know, five shots rang out.”
Trump was just minutes into his rally when around 10 popping sounds interrupted his speech. The former president quickly collapsed behind his podium, as red-capped supporters behind him screamed and tried to duck.
Secret Service agents quickly jumped onto the stage, then hoisted up Trump, whose face was dripping with blood. He pumped his fist before agents helped walk him off stage and into a security vehicle.
Trump has since said he is “fine” and his campaign disclosed that he is being “checked out” at a local medical facility.
Secret Service agents killed the shooter. One spectator was killed, while two others were critically injured, the Secret Service said.
The witness told the BBC that it was “absolutely” clear the shooter — who he said was clad in “muted colors,” like “tan, tight clothing” — was killed.
“Secret Service blew his head off,” Greg said. “They crawled up on the roof, they had their guns pointed at him to make sure he was dead, he was dead. And that’s it. It was over.”
Law enforcement is investigating the incident as an attempted assassination of the former president. The Independent has called the Butler County District Attorney’s Office for more information.
Another witness, an emergency room doctor, recalled how he sprung into action to try to save a shooting victim in the crowd.
“I heard the shots. I thought it was crackers to begin with,” the doctor, who had blood stains on his T-shirt, told a CBS News reporter.
Someone had been screaming “he was shot, he was shot” so the doctor rushed over. The spectator had been shot in the head, and the doctor said he could see “brain matter.”
“The guy had spun around was jammed between the benches and a head shot here,” the doctor explained.
He then performed CPR and chest compressions on the man.
“I was the only one that did it,” he told CBS News. “There’s a helicopter coming in to get him.”
Source Agencies
