What we know: Trump assassination attempt

Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by secret service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. The former US president was seen with blood on his right ear as he was surrounded by security agents, who hustled him off the stage as he pumped his first to the crowd. [AFP]

The White House said President Joe Biden was given an initial briefing on the incident by 6:50 pm.

"There's no place in America for this kind of violence. It's sick. It's sick," Biden told reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Shortly before 10:30 pm, Biden's office said he had spoken to Trump and would cut short his beach weekend to return to Washington.

Shooter named

The FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Pennsylvania's Bethel Park, according to US media.

Crooks was named by the FBI "as the subject involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump".

The Secret Service said the shooter "fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside the rally" before being "neutralized" by agents.

Multiple witnesses said they saw the gunman before the shooting and alerted authorities.

Trump supporter Ryan Knight said he saw the attacker on a nearby building.

"When I was sitting there, a guy said: 'oh God, he had a gun'," Knight told journalists.

Local police said they had "responded to a number of reports of suspicious activity" but gave no further details.

The attacker was armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, US media reported.

Victims

The gunman and a bystander were killed at the rally, while two spectators were critically wounded.

Two witnesses told US media they saw a man fatally shot in the head.

"The man beside me suffered a gunshot to the head, was instantly killed (and)... Another woman looked like she got hit in the forearm or hand," a man, whose name was only given as Joseph, told NBC News.

A second witness, who said he was an emergency doctor, said he went to help after someone shouted that a person had been shot.

"The guy had spun around, was jammed between the benches. He had a headshot here," he said, indicating a spot on his head, in comments shared widely in US media.

"There's lots of blood and he had brain matter," said the man, who was wearing a white USA T-shirt stained with blood.