July 26, 2024
3 mins read

Trump could have been hit by shrapnel, says FBI director  

The FBI in a statement on Thursday said it had been “consistent and clear that the shooting was an attempted assassination”…reports Asian Lite News

Donald Trump could have been hit by shrapnel rather than a bullet during his attempted assassination, the director of the FBI has suggested. Thomas Crooks, 20, tried to assassinate the former president at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on 13 July.

Trump dropped to the floor after a bullet appeared to narrowly miss his head and graze his ear when the gunman opened fire – killing one person and wounding two others. But at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday, FBI director Christopher Wray suggested it was unclear whether he was hit by a bullet or something else.

“There’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” he said. “As I sit here right now, I don’t know whether that bullet, in addition to causing the grazing, could have also landed somewhere else.”

Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by secret service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. The suspected shooter who wounded Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally is dead, US media reported Saturday, along with one bystander. (Photo by Rebecca DROKE / AFP)/2024-07-14 11:57:35/

The FBI in a statement on Thursday said it had been “consistent and clear that the shooting was an attempted assassination”. A Trump campaign spokesperson, Jason Miller, called the idea that Trump was not hit by a bullet a “conspiracy,” adding an expletive.

Representative Ronny Jackson, who was formerly Trump’s chief medical advisor, called Wray’s remarks “absolutely irresponsible” on social media. He said they marked “another politically motivated move by the man that has repeatedly weaponized his office to tear down President Trump,” and added he had seen the wound. Wray was nominated as FBI director by Mr Trump in August 2017.

The FBI director also told the committee hearing that Crooks had searched for details on the assassination of John F Kennedy in the week leading up to the attempt. Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on 22 November 1963, while the then-president was travelling in a motorcade.

Wray said the Google search “how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?”, thought to have been carried out on 6 July, was “significant” in terms of Crooks’s “state of mind”. “That is the same day that it appears he registered” for the Trump rally, scheduled for 13 July, Wray added.

Crooks’s motive remains unknown, Wray said, adding: “A lot of the usual repositories of information have not yielded, anything notable in terms of motive or ideology.” It comes after the director of the US Secret Service resigned over the assassination attempt on Tuesday after she called it the “most significant operational failure” in decades

Kimberly Cheatle told the House of Representatives Oversight and Accountability Committee on Monday that members of the public had pointed out a suspect to law enforcement officers before the shooting – and admitted the agency was told about a suspicious person “between two and five times”.

“We failed. As the director of the United States Secret Service, I take full responsibility for any security lapse,” Cheatle said.

ALSO READ: Harris ‘ready’ to debate Trump

Previous Story

Harris ‘ready’ to debate Trump

Next Story

‘WhatsApp now has 100 mn monthly active users in US’

Latest from -Top News

Border Sealed, Hopes on Hold

A Hindu family from Balochistan’s Sibi was reportedly denied entry into India after the closure of border crossing….reports Asian Lite News Pakistan and India’s decision to shut down the Wagah-Attari border crossing

West visits Cambodia to strengthen ties 

The visit also addresses shared security concerns, including combating serious organised crime and human trafficking, and future defence cooperation initiatives  The UK and Cambodia are collaborating to advance climate initiatives and promote

UK and Ukraine deepen community ties  

 Thousands of school children across the UK and Ukraine have applied to take part in a landmark 100 Year Partnership programme between the two countries   Thousands of school children across the
Go toTop

Don't Miss

US releases $275mn aid for Ukraine  

With the latest allocation, the total amount of military assistance

UAE, US Seek to Advance Trade & Investment Ties

Both sides also reinforced the importance of building mutual consensus