On July 13, 2024, Donald John Trump, the 45th president of the United States held a rally near Butler, Pennsylvania where someone made an assassination attempt on the former president.
22 year old Thomas Matthew Crooks had a job at a nursing home, with no reports of a criminal record. Crooks requested that day off work; for which he didn’t specify why.
Crooks sneaked on top of a building with an AR-15, aiming at Trump’s head. When Trump looked at a massive screen, he tilted his head right as the bullets were fired. This caused the bullets to miss Trump’s head, but it skimmed his ear.
“It was a miracle, if I hadn’t turned my head I would not be talking to you right now,” Trump claimed during an interview.
Seconds after the shots were fired, a Secret Service Agent sniped Crooks.
Trauma surgeon Babak Sarani, a doctor who has treated many patients with gun wounds, mentioned that if Trump didn’t tilt his head at the last second, it would have been a shot to the head.
Sarani said, “It’s a one in a billion type of thing.” If the bullet hit at a slightly different angle, “this would be a different story.”
If you were told you have a split second to tilt your head to save your life, how fast would your reaction time be?
A senior at Beverly, Liel Shikuri said, “I thought it was a bit weird. …I was in shock.”
On Sept. 15, 2024, 58 year old Ryan Wesley hid in a bush on Trump’s golf course in Palm Beach, Florida. He was the second guy in two months to make an assassination attempt on Trump.
As Trump’s Secret Service team scouted the area before Trump came on the course, one Secret Service agent noticed a rifle sticking out of a bush. When Wesley was spotted, he dropped his weapon and attempted to make a run.
A witness saw Wesley in a black SUV; the witness took a picture of the car’s license plate and reported it. The FBI caught Wesley less than an hour after he fled the scene. Wesley had been waiting 12 hours at the scene to attempt to assassinate Trump.
“Well I was in shock, again, mostly because someone tried again and then they still failed,” Shukiri said.
A note was found written by Wesley, offering $150,000 to anyone who assassinated Donald Trump if he fails to do so.
This marks the second assassination attempt on former President Donald John Trump in a two month span.
