Former US President Donald Trump was standing behind a podium, addressing an outdoor public gathering in Butler, Pennsylvania, with his head tilted to the right under a clear sky and a high temperature.
Suddenly, after only 6 minutes, a barrage of “pops” was heard that sounded like gunshots. Then Trump immediately grabbed his right ear and looked at the blood on his hands, then quickly fell to the ground behind the podium.
The crowd screamed and those standing behind him bowed in surprise.
Six Secret Service officers rushed to the podium and surrounded Trump, who was sitting on his knees behind the podium, and other officers armed with rifles also climbed onto the podium.
There was apparently a second volley of gunshots.
Secret Service agents kept Trump on the ground for 25 seconds, and someone could be heard shouting: "Shooter's down."
"Move," another person shouted, while many in the crowd continued to scream.
Officers lifted Trump to his feet, his red “Make America Great Again” baseball cap no longer on his head, his hair disheveled, blood on his ear and his face bloodied.
“Let me get my shoes. Let me get my shoes,” Trump said as the officers picked him up from the ground, then said, “Wait, wait, wait,” before he began waving his fist.
One of the officers raised his arm above Trump's head to protect him from possible further shots.
Trump continued to point his fist at the crowd, chanting "Fight," and many in the crowd began chanting: "USA, USA."
Secret Service officers surrounded Trump and transferred him to a nearby black car, while Trump continually raised his fist after escorting him to the car amid more chants of “USA.”
What did the eyewitnesses say?
A witness told the BBC that he saw the shooter climb onto the roof of a low-rise building outside the security perimeter with a rifle and shouted at nearby police officers to alert them to the potential threat.
He added that the police seemed puzzled at first and did not immediately respond to the warning, noting that "the next thing you know, 5 gunshots were fired."
The witness explained: "The Secret Service blew his head off. They crawled to the roof, pointed their guns at him, made sure he was dead. He was dead, and that was it. That was it."
Ron Moos, a Trump supporter who was in the crowd, told Reuters he heard about four gunshots.
Moss added: "I saw the crowd get to the ground and then Trump leaned down very quickly... and then all the Secret Service and his security personnel jumped in as fast as they could. We're talking about a second... they all protected him."
Jim Moore, 57, was in the seats behind the podium and said a man five rows away from him was shot and fell.
He added that the officers came and accompanied him behind the runway, where they took care of his wounds.
“The guy right behind us got hit,” said Moore, who is from Beaver County, Pennsylvania. “And after they got Trump out of there, they took him and walked him down — he was walking — they took him behind the bleachers and put him on the ground.”
Two women in their 70s sitting near the stage told Reuters they saw two people fall after the shooting and police tended to them.
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