Sunday July 14, 2024
The former President of the United States (US) Donald Trump survived a shooting by a gunman while campaigning in Pennsylvania State on Saturday July 13, 2024.
Trump was seen going down after rings of gunshots and within seconds, the US Secret Service personnel had put down the assassin from a rooftop near the event. He has since been identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old man.
As a consequence, the sniper died on the spot. BBC interviewed a man who confirmed (https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/1812273630702952543) sight of the assassin before the tragic shooting happened and alerted law enforcement. It appears the security forces took a long to deal with the reported man lurking on top of the roof with an assault rifle.
In the intervening period, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the motive behind the shooting at a reportedly peaceful political rally.
The White House issued a statement by the current President Joe Biden yesterday stating that:
“I’m grateful to hear that he’s safe and doing well. I’m praying for him and his family and for all those who were at the rally, as we await further information.”
French President Emmanuel Macron on his X account @EmmanuelMacron had this to say:
“My thoughts are with President Donald Trump, the victim of an assassination attempt. I send him my wishes for a speedy recovery. A spectator has died, several are injured. It is a tragedy for our democracies. France shares the shock and indignation of the American people.”
Flying under the Republic banner, Trump is a firm contender for the US Presidential elections this November.
Americans have had a slew of assassinations dating back to decades and centuries.
In 1981, the President Ronald Reagan came under gun attack and he too, lived to lead his nation. Since then, there had never been such brazen overtures over the White House office bearers.
There are tragedies recorded for potential candidates running for office who either lost their lives or died. In 1968, Robert F Kennedy, JFK’s brother, was assassinated in California as a Democratic candidate and died. However, George Wallace, another democratic candidate on a campaign trail in Maryland, was paralysed after an attempt on his life in 1972. ANother notable candidate was Theodore Roosevelt who survived assassination scare in Milwaukee in 1912.
In 1963, President John Fitzegerald Kennedy was not so lucky when he succumbed to gunshot wounds in Dallas, Texas. Kenney was the youngest American to become the President at 44 and died just merely two years in office.
Ibrahim Linconl who led the US during the American Civil War was assassinated near Hodgenville in Kentucky, US, in 1865. He was 56 years old.
President James Garfield died three months after the assassin shot him at a train station in Washington in 1881.