President Biden expressed his concern and prayers for his political rival, Donald Trump, following an assassination attempt on the former president at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Several shots were fired as Trump, a Republican frontrunner, was giving a speech in Butler. The former president sustained a wound to his right ear but escaped further injuries.
“I am relieved 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,” Biden told reporters hours after the incident. “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America,” he added.
“We cannot allow this to be happening,” Biden said. The president also expressed his hope to speak to Trump soon.
Following the gunshots, Trump first sought cover by ducking to the ground and was then escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents. He was taken to a hospital and later wrote on social media that a bullet “pierced the upper part of my right ear.”
The Secret Service reported that its agents “neutralized” the suspected shooter. One spectator was killed and two were critically injured in the attack.