https://arab.news/2jgzh
- Trump shot in ear in apparent assassination attempt during Pennsylvania rally
- PM Sharif hopes for Trump’s early recovery, expresses sympathies with injured
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday condemned the apparent assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump during a campaign rally, describing it as a “shocking development.”
Trump was immediately rushed off stage by security guards after being shot in the ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooter and a bystander were killed while two spectators were also injured in the incident, officials confirmed.
Video footage showed Trump grimacing as the shots rang out and clutching a hand to his ear, with blood visible on his ear and cheek. The US Secret Service said Trump was “safe and being evaluated” after the incident occurred.
“Just learnt that former President Trump was shot at an election rally,” Sharif wrote on social media platform X. “This is a shocking development.”
The Pakistani prime minister said he condemned violence in politics.
“Wish the former President swift recovery and good health,” he added.
Hours after the incident took place, Trump said it was “incredible” that the attack took place in the United States.
“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” the former US president wrote on his TruthSocial network.
With the attack sending shock waves around the world, US President Joe Biden condemned the incident and said he hoped to speak to Trump soon.
Trump, who served as president from 2017-2021, easily bested his rivals for the Republican nomination early in the campaign and has largely unified around him the party that had briefly wavered in support after his supporters attacked the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, attempting to overturn his 2020 election defeat.
The businessman and former reality television star entered the year facing a raft of legal worries, including four separate criminal prosecutions. He was found guilty in late May of trying to cover up hush money payments to an adult actress, but the other three prosecutions he faces — including two for his attempts to overturn his defeat — have been ground to a halt by various factors including a Supreme Court decision early this month that found him to be partly immune to prosecution.