Trump was struck by bullet during assassination attempt, FBI says
WASHINGTON - The FBI has confirmed that a bullet did strike Donald Trump’s ear during an assassination attempt, moving to clear up conflicting accounts of what caused the former president’s injuries.
"What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle," the agency said in a statement.
The statement from the FBI marked the most definitive law enforcement account of Trump’s injuries and followed ambiguous comments earlier in the week from Director Christopher Wray that appeared to cast doubt on whether Trump had actually been hit by a bullet.
The comment drew fury from Trump and his allies and further stoked conspiracy theories that have flourished on both sides of the political aisle amid a dearth of information following the July 13 attack.
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Up until now, federal law enforcement agents involved in the investigation, including the FBI and Secret Service, had repeatedly refused to provide information about what caused Trump’s injuries. Trump’s campaign has also declined to release medical records from the hospital where he was first treated or to make the doctors there available for questions.
Trump shot at rally in Pennsylvania
Trump survived the assassination attempt before he was whisked off the stage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when gunshots rang through the crowd on July 13.
The former president and Republican nominee was showing off a chart of border crossing numbers when the sound of gunfire started ringing through the crowd. Trump could be seen reaching with his right hand toward his neck, and there appeared to be blood on his face.
He quickly ducked behind the riser as agents from his protective detail rushed the stage and screams were heard in the crowd of several thousand people. The gunfire continued as agents tended to him on stage.
RELATED: Trump injured but 'fine' after assassination attempt at Pennsylvania rally
The Secret Service said the former president was safe and fine after being checked out by medical personnel.
In a statement on social media, Trump later said he was "shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear."
"I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin," he said in a statement. "Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening."
This story was reported from Los Angeles. The Associated Press contributed.