On Saturday evening at 6.02pm, former President Donald Trump took the stage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, amidst the cheers of the crowd and the song “God Bless the USA” playing in the background. As he began his speech, Trump pointed to a chart showing a rise in illegal border crossings under President Joe Biden’s administration.
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Suddenly, at least five shots rang out, causing Trump to clutch his ear as Secret Service agents rushed towards him, yelling, “Get down!” The crowd dropped to the ground in unison, and silence fell over the field, broken only by occasional screams.Trump was quickly surrounded by agents who shielded him with their own bodies. Despite their attempts to escort him offstage, Trump resisted, pumping his fist and seemingly mouthing the word “fight” before being ushered down the stairs and into a waiting SUV.
The assailant who attempted to take the life of former President Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday had strategically positioned himself on the rooftop of a manufacturing facility, situated more than 130 yards away from the stage where Trump was speaking. This distance, slightly longer than the length of a football field, provided the gunman with a clear line of sight to his target, as the event was being held in an open-air setting at the Butler Farm Show grounds, which feature expansive, open fields, a New York Post report said.
The counter-sniper team, which sources informed The Post was responsible for neutralizing the shooter, returned fire from the roof of a separate building in close proximity to Trump’s location, situated behind the stands where the audience was seated.
The building from which the sniper‘s body was subsequently recovered is part of the AGR International, Inc complex, a company that specializes in providing automation equipment for the glass and plastic packaging industry. The company’s property directly borders the farm show grounds, with only a chain-link fence separating the two.
The shots were fired from the rooftop of a specific building within the AGR International Inc complex, identified as building 6 on Google Street View. This structure is located further away from the nearby Whitestown Road and Evans City Road compared to the other buildings in the complex, the NY Post reported.
Apart from a few trees on AGR International’s property, the rooftop of the building offered an unobstructed view of the farm show grounds, with nothing but grass separating the gunman’s rifle from the former president’s head. Law enforcement sources informed the Associated Press that an AR-style semi-automatic assault rifle was recovered from the scene of the incident.
(With inputs from agencies)