JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Local leaders are reacting and an investigation is ongoing into an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania Saturday.
Secret Service agents quickly surrounded Trump and pulled him from the stage after shots rang out Saturday evening; his ear was covered in blood from what he said was a gunshot wound.
A local prosecutor said the incident left the suspected shooter and at least one person dead. The Secret Service said two innocent spectators were critically injured.
"I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt that bullet ripping through the skin," Trump said in a post to Truth Social after the shooting. "Most importantly, I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the rally who was killed."
President Joe Biden called the shooting "sick" saying "everybody must condemn" the suspected assassination attempt on Trump. "The idea that there's violence in America like this is just unheard of," said Biden.
In Jacksonville, a local GOP leader expressed worry for Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, when he saw the former president ducking for cover as gunshots rang out.
"We were watching it, and we were like 'What are we seeing? Did that just happen? Is this really happening?' It was shock and horror and fear for the president and the people around him," said Duval GOP Chairman Dean Black, while he recounted watching the moment live on television.
Black added that this incident serves as a reminder that the contentious nature of politics can make being a politician dangerous.
“I serve in the state legislature. Look, many of us get threats at times. No matter which side of this great, national debate we’re having that you happen to be, remember this, we have no choice but to live together," said Black.
Duval Democrats Chair Daniel Henry said in a statement that political violence is never acceptable and he condemns it in the strongest possible terms. Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, a Democrat, also condemned the violence at the Trump rally.
"Political violence is indefensible, and unacceptable in the United States of America," said Deegan. "My prayers are with the former president and his family. Let's gather ourselves in this moment and remember who we are."
First Coast News Political Analyst Andrew Pantazi said the apparent assassination attempt on Trump could impact the number of voters showing up to the polls in November.
"It could help increase how much people are engaged, increase how much people are paying attention and how much, for people who are, maybe, passive supporters now, that they may realize that stakes with who is running for president," said Pantazi.
Black said he feels the attempt on the former president's life will invigorate Jacksonville Republicans in the months leading up to the election.
"One word sums it up: Defiance. And that expressed as hard work, to elect President Trump. We will all get through this as one people, but let this be the last blood shed for politics in America," Black said.