Five shots, then screams – before a bloodied Trump rose to shout ‘fight, fight, fight’

Donald Trump had just begun his rally in Pennsylvania, shortly after 6pm on Saturday, when bystanders noticed his would-be assassin crawling on to a nearby roof.

Armed with an AR-15, the gunman was “army-crawling, bear-crawling” along his elevated position, a witness told the BBC.

Less than 150 yards from the former US president, he had a direct line of sight to his podium.

The gunman’s rifle, the witness said, was clearly visible.

He and his fellow bystander raised the alarm with police and Secret Service agents on the ground, to no avail.

Minutes that may have felt interminable to these Good Samaritans passed by, law enforcement merely watching on from the ground.

“Next thing you know, five shots rang out,” the witness said.

Inside the rally, Trump, mere minutes into his speech, was smiling and relaxed.

His final campaign event before his third crowning as the Republican nominee could not have come at a better moment.

While he campaigned in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, his opponent Joe Biden was fighting for his political life.

The 78-year-old Trump was looking off to the right as the first loud bang whizzed through the Farm Show fairground in the city of Butler.

He cut off abruptly and raised a hand to his right ear as two more shots rang out.

The former president looked a little confused, but pulling his hand back and finding it covered in blood, realised danger was near and ducked behind the lectern.

Unflinching photographers captured the split second where the bullet came within inches of killing the 2024 candidate.

An ominous blurred line – the streak of a fast-moving bullet whistling through the air – memorialised the moment the White House race, and US history, irreversibly altered.

Trump later revealed a bullet had “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,” he said.

As Trump went down, the crowd began screaming.

The microphone Trump had been speaking from minutes before was now amplifying the panicked calls.

“Get down, get down,” came the call.

Incredibly, some spectators remained upright, craning their necks to see how severely their political hero had been injured.

Secret Service agents rushed on to the stage and surrounded the former president, acting as human shields even as the gunshots continued to ring out.

Chaos ensued. “What are we doing, what are we doing?” a frantic voice shouted as yet another gunshot rang out.

Within seconds, heavily armed officers in dark tactical gear had ascended the rally stage.

“Hawkeye’s here,” one shouted, the codename for the elite counter assault team assigned to the former president.

Yards away, a Secret Service sniper mounted on a roof calmly quickly retrained his rifle and returned fire.

Shaky video footage, captured from another angle, appeared to show the moment Trump’s would-be killer was fatally shot in the head.

Identified by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, footage showed the long-haired white man in grey fatigues lying prone on the roof.

State voter records show that he was a registered Republican, according to US media.

Urgent questions have been raised over how he was able to come within yards of a presidential candidate who enjoys round-the-clock protection from an agency that prides itself on being the world’s best.

But the ruthless efficiency of the Secret Service cannot be in doubt.

Less than 60 seconds after the first shot was heard, one of the elite Hawkeye team declared: “Shooter’s down, we’re good to move.”

“Let’s move, let’s move,” his colleagues agreed.

Trump reappeared in view of the press cameras trained on the stage, hoisted to his feet by his Secret Service team, now acting as a Praetorian Guard.

The Republican’s trademark red “MAGA” cap, knocked off his head, was clutched in his hands.

“Hold up, your head is bloody,” an agent could be heard telling him.

Trump, either defiant or in a state of shock, stalled their progress, demanding: “Let me get my shoes.”

One shoe remained behind on stage as his agents moved as one, Trump in the centre, towards the edge of the stage.

“Wait, wait,” came Trump’s command. He pushed against the protective ring of arms, struggling against their grip, and pumped his fist in the air.

Blood was trickling down his ear, but the former president’s face was set.

“Fight, fight, fight,” he told his supporters.

It may have been the moment he clinched the 2024 election. Roars of “USA, USA, USA” broke out from the crowd in response.

The memorable image drew parallels with Teddy Roosevelt, another former president shot as he attempted to reclaim the Oval Office in 1912.

Following his shooting in 1912, Roosevelt famously declared: “It takes more than that to kill a bull moose.”

Trump may be just three years younger than Mr Biden, but his angry, blood-soaked face and raised fist could not have provided a greater contrast to concerns over the frail 81-year-old’s fitness to serve.

The fragility of Ronald Reagan’s “shining city on a hill” was once again exposed.

Finally, the phalanx of agents succeeded in escorting Trump off stage, and into a waiting bulletproof car.

They looked as if they had just finished a training exercise – one they’ve no doubt practised to precision – as they calmly readjusted their sunglasses and stood facing the crowd.

But the gunman’s proximity to ending the life of a presidential candidate has exposed glaring vulnerabilities that others may now seek to exploit in a politically fractured America.

Nicholas Irving, a former US special operations sniper dubbed the “Reaper,” offered a more blunt assessment of the Secret Service’s performance.

“We provided better diplomatic security when I was [with private security firm] Triple Canopy as a contractor,” he said on social media.

Issuing a statement from a nearby hospital, Trump said he was doing “fine” and expressed condolences for a spectator who was killed during the shooting.

He was identified as 50-year-old Corey Compertore.

The former fire chief had dived in front of his wife and daughter to shield them as the gunfire rained down.

His daughter, Allyson, called him her “real-life superhero”. Two others were critically injured.

The scene back at the fairground in Butler, a city of around 13,000 in western Pennsylvania told its own tale.

Photographs show blood splatters on the bleacher seats where Trump supporters sat for the rally.

An emergency department doctor who ran to the aid of one injured person told CBS: “He had a headshot. There was lots of blood.”

His white USA T-shirt stained with blood, he went on: “I did CPR, I did chest compressions.”

Trump’s event in the battleground state came on the eve of the Republican convention in Milwaukee, a four-day event which begins on Monday.

Security, already meticulously planned, has been further strengthened.

Trump has vowed to continue with the event and has urged the public to “stand united”.

Mr Biden has also called on America to turn the temperature down. The question remains: is the country up to the task?

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