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4 months ago
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New footage has revealed the dramatic seconds that followed the ex-President Donald Trump being shot in the head with Secret Service agents seen bundling him off the stage and into his vehicle with just a single hand shielding his head.
Just mere moments after Thomas Crooks, 20, made his assassination attempt on the presidential candidate at a Pennsylvania campaign rally on Saturday night, chaos unraveled as security agents scrambled to get the 78-year-old to safety.
It comes as the Secret Service have been heavily scrutinized for their efforts in rescuing Trump that day - as the scenes turned to havoc after agents removed the former President's shoes and stumbled over each other as they attempted to protect him with just their bodies.
Eye witness footage first shows an agent wearing a black suit and shades running over to Trump's black armored Chevrolet and holding open the door in wait of the former president's arrival from off the stage.
The camera then pans to the red stage looking over hundreds of bewildered rally goers as Trump is bundled to the ground and shielded with the human bodies of at least nine agents.
New footage shows the seconds following the chaotic shooting of former President Donald Trump before he is dashed off stage
A team of at least nine Secret Service agents swarmed around Trump as they relocated him from the stage to his armored Chevrolet
With no other form of head protection, one officer was seen shielding the politician's head with just his bare hand, moments after he had been shot in the ear
Two armed cops in black and camouflage protective gear also dashed up onto the stage as they communicated with the Secret Service agents and assessed a safe route to get Trump to safety.
Tensions rose while the agents reluctantly lifted the wounded politician, with Trump supporters cautiously looking around and speaking with officers as they attempted to work out just what had happened.
After a few seconds of commotion from the crowds, Trump is seen fully lifted and in a standing position with several agents swarmed around him.
But this doesn't stop the former president from defiantly raising his fist in the air, and memorably shouting 'Fight!' to the crowd, before pumping his fist three times.
The gesture sent the crowd wild as they were seen in the footage jumping into the air and cheering for the injured candidate.
Trump's show of strength did not last long, however, as the Secret Service moved quickly to bundle him down the steps of the stage.
As the group rushed through the walkway, decked in the American flag and between frantic fans, they huddled around the bleeding ex-president before one raised a single hand to shield Trump's head.
No other form of shielding or protection was used to cover his head as he ducked down and ran towards his car surrounded by his eager team of security personnel.
Finally, as he makes it to the door of the vehicle, Trump raises his fist one last time in a courageous address to the crowd before he is shoved into the back seat and dashed off to hospital.
The former president was scrambled down the stairs of the stage but was fully exposed
Trump safely made it back to his car before he was dashed off to hospital for treatment to his gunshot wound
He defiantly raised a first into the air in a show of strength that drove the crowd wild before he was sped away from the campaign rally
On Sunday, the shooter was identified by the FBI as Thomas Crooks - a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
He was gunned down by the Secret Service moments after he fired at least eight shots in the direction of the former president.
This raised serious questions around whether the two teams of Secret Service snipers had completely failed to spot the shooter until it was too late and how Crooks was able to fire that many shots before he was taken down.
A witness to the assassination revealed he warned Secret Service agents about a man with a rifle on a nearby roof minutes before they opened fire.
The witness, named Greg Smith, told DailyMail.com that he saw the suspected gunman climb into a rooftop outside the event, and was bewildered by the lack of action from agents.
'I’m thinking to myself 'Why is Trump still speaking, why have they not pulled him off the stage,'' he said. 'The next thing you know, five shots ring out.'
It emerged through federal campaign finance records that the gunman was a registered Republican who had previously made a $15 donation to the liberal ActBlue political action committee on January 20, 2021 - Biden's Inauguration Day.
Explosive devices were later found in his vehicle and home after his father, Matthew Crooks, 53, legally purchased the AR-15 that his son used to attempt to assassinate Trump.
Thomas Crooks, 20, was identified by the FBI as the shooter on Sunday. He was gunned down by the Secret Service just moments after firing at least eight rounds in Trumps direction and hitting him in the ear
A remote detonator was seen next to Thomas Crooks' body and cellphone after he was shot dead
Police personnel stand over the body of Thomas Matthews Crooks on a rooftop near the Trump rally on Saturday
As Trump pumped his fist to the crowd he shouted 'Fight!' which caused the crowd to jump to their feet and cheer him on
Police snipers return fire after shots were fired while Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump was speaking at a campaign event
The gunman killed one rally goer, revealed to be Corey Comperatore, and critically injured two - including David Dutch, 57, a marine veteran.
Although his assassination attempt was unsuccessful, Crooks opened fire on Trump but only managed to graze his ear.
Crooks, who graduated high school just two years ago, parked his vehicle near the rally site in Butler on Saturday before scaling to the roof of the glass building and targeting the former president.
Authorities claim that after police received multiple reports of suspicious packages near where the shooter parked his car it prompted them to dispatch bomb technicians.
It was today revealed that a remote detonator was found on the would-be assassin's body alongside his cell phone after he was shot dead.
A picture first published by Pittsburgh's WPXI showed a rectangular grey device with a keypad similar to a television remote control, alongside the gunman's cellphone.
The station also published a picture of Crooks, clad in the t-shirt of popular YouTube channel Demolition Ranch, taken by a law enforcement agent, minutes before the shooting took place.
Channel 11′s Nicole Ford, who obtained the exclusive photo, revealed that law enforcement agents saw Crooks outside of the the single-story AGR International building from which he shot the ex-President.
This new development comes as Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle faces fresh questions after local law enforcement officials directly contradicted her claim that a Beaver County sniper team was stationed in the very building from which Trump was shot.
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