CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The shooting at former President Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania is being investigated as an attempted assassination of the former president and presumptive Republican nominee, law enforcement officials say. It was not immediately clear whether Trump was shot, but the former president's campaign quickly said that he was “fine.”
A local prosecutor said the suspected gunman and at least one attendee are dead.
“President Trump thanks law enforcement and first responders for their quick action during this heinous act,” spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “He is fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility. More details will follow.”
The Secret Service said in a statement that “the former President is safe.”
Several local politicians reacted to the news on social media immediately after it happened.
WCNC Charlotte shope with Doctor Michael Bitzer, chairman of the department of politics at Catawba College about what unfolded and how the nation moves forward with less than four months from the election.
"This is an unfortunate aspect of american society," Bitzer said. "A deeply horrific event in American politics. Violence has no place in our self-government. We should settle our differences at the ballot box, not by bullets. But this is an unfortunate part of what we are seeing in this hyper-polarized bitterly divided country."
When asked how the country will move forward now, Bitzer had this to say.
"We are going to have to re-evaluate all the precautions that were made. So, we’ll probably have to take an even deeper dive into protecting a certain radius around these kinds of rallies and events. These are kind of the core components of visiting communities, and visiting places. Hearing from your candidate."