President Joe Biden’s White House issued a statement Saturday night condemning the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
“I have been briefed on the shooting at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania,” the president said in a statement, released about an hour after the initial news of the shooting broke. “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.”
“[First lady Jill Biden] and I are grateful to the Secret Service for getting him to safety,” Biden continued. “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it.”
In live remarks to reporters in Rehoboth, Delaware, where he has a home, Biden said: “We cannot condone this,” adding: “Everybody must condemn it. Everybody.”
The president’s comments come after shots rang out at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Photos of the incident show a bloodied Trump defiantly raising a fist in the air. Fox News reported as of 8 p.m. on Saturday that the gunman was dead and two others had been injured and taken to a Pittsburgh hospital. Butler is about 33 miles north of Pittsburgh.
The president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., told ABC News that Trump is under observation, but in “good spirits” and is “never going to stop.”
“An incident occurred the evening of July 13 at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania,” the Secret Service said in a statement on Saturday evening. “The Secret Service has implemented protective measures and the former President is safe. This is now an active Secret Service investigation and further information will be released when available.”
Trump’s speech began around 6 p.m. Shortly afterward, video footage shows, the former president appeared to fall to the ground, or duck below his lectern, following the sound of gunshots, and the Secret Service swarmed around him before leading him offstage and into a vehicle.