it's the most serious attempt to assassinate a former or current president in four decades. there is such a stark level of polarisation between the two sides. it is almost baked—in instability now. a witness tells us he saw a man with a rifle on a roof nearby before shots rang out and tried to warm the police. we were like "hey, man — the guy is on the roof up here. "there's a guy on the roof." you told them that? absolutely told them. i was at the event when the shooting happened. this is the story of the attempted assassination of donald trump and the shock it sent across america. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the next president of the united states, president donald] trump!

# i'm proud to be an american # where at least i know i'm free # at a campaign rally in western pennsylvania on saturday, 13july, donald trump takes to the stage. he's in a buoyant mood. ahead in many of the polls, he knows his opponent is struggling, and mr trump is given a joyous reception. and then the worst president in the history of our country took over, and look what happened to our country — probably 20 million people. six minutes into his speech comes this. if you really want to really see something that's sad, take a look at what happened... gunshots secret service: get down, get down! screaming are you ready? on you. move!

screaming we're clear! let's move. shooter's down. are we good to move? we're clear! let's move. we're clear! let me get my shoes on. i have got you, sir. sir, we've got to get moving. let me get my shoes on. secret service agents lead donald trump from the stage

after a moment of defiance. he appears to say "fight, fight, fight." crowd chanting: usa, usa, usa! the crowd signals its support as the former president is led away. crowd chanting: usa, usa, usa! there is anotherfist in the air as mr trump, who had been shot in the ear, makes it safely to the car. three other people in the crowd have been hit, one fatally wounded. i thought it was firecrackers to begin with. somebody over there was

screaming "he's been shot," so i made my way over. i said "i'm an emergency department physician, let me help you." there is a helicopter coming in to get them. so, people there, really helpful. i got — then i did cpr and i did chest compressions as well. it sounded like there were fireworks and everyone kind of hesitated, like — what is happening — before trump swatted his ear. you could see that he actually had that — and he dropped. and that is when everyone had the initial reaction to drop to the ground, and people were just on top of each other. like, she was getting buried. and then ijumped on top of her... i it was crazy. i was sitting there. a guy said "oh, god — he has a gun." i looked up — there is a guy on top of the building, right over there, with an m—16 with a blanket, pointing it at the president. he started shooting — bow, bow, bow, bow —

about 4—5 shots rang out. did you see him say anything or hear him say anything? i heard "fight, fight, fight." yeah, he got off of his spot and... all the way to the car. all the way to the car, yeah. it was iconic, for sure. he was trying to tell us "never surrender, keep fighting." jesus has him and we know that — we all know thatjesus has him — and i think confusion is one thing, but we are at peace because we knowjesus has him. everyone started praying. they did the father's prayer and everyone started screaming the prayer out loud in the breacher area. it was pretty amazing. it honestly was. the first shots were heard at 6:11 in the evening local time. you're 0k, you're 0k, you're 0k. there were four in quick succession. secret service: when you're ready, on you - move! - mr trump clutches his ear after the initial shots then there is a fifth

and a sixth shot. mr trump crouches down behind the lectern. a secret service agent rushed towards him. seconds later, more shots are fired and more agents rush onto the stage. the last shot is fired 17 seconds after the first. secret service: hold, hold - are you ready? l on you. there is no doubting the fear among some in the crowd, many crouching down, some running. the attacker has been shot dead by secret service agents. cheering probably about half a dozen shots, we heard. there was a woman shouting that someone had been shooting. a guy came by and said that he thought there had been a couple of snipers, but he was not sure. we're just waiting to see if things have cleared.

a few minutes later, one man told the bbc he saw a man with a rifle and tried to warn the police. we were all standing up there by the tree. a bunch of people went up closer to the fence but i stood back by the tree, and i saw a guy shimmying off the roof with a rifle. you saw a guy with a rifle getting on the roof? yes. this was before the rally started? no. trump was already speaking. he was probably speaking for — i don't know — five, seven minutes, he was speaking, and i saw a guy shimmying up the roof of this building right here — you can see the white roof through the trees — and i stood there pointing at him for — i don't know — 2—3 minutes at secret service. they were looking at us the whole time from the barn roof. i stood there pointing at the guy on the roof, and i was thinking to myself "why is trump still speaking?" because — you know what — there is a guy shimmying up this roof with a rifle. the police were down, running around the building

like a bunch of fools, did not know what was going on. we were like "hey, the guy is on the roof up here. "there is a guy on the roof." you told them that? absolutely told them, sure. right, 0k. yes. i don't know, man. i don't know what's going on, but i tell you what — something is not right here. the gunman was on the roof of this building. it is around 130 metres from where mr trump was speaking on stage. the attacker was shot and killed by a secret service sniper on the roof behind the former president. i am in a massive lockdown area. we can't go anywhere in or out. the police are looking, particularly in that building — obviously there were some sniffer dogs over there about half—an—hour ago. this is one great big crime scene as we speak. motorbikes, choppers, police — everything you can imagine because there are lots of questions still to answer.

when i was watching live — that bullet pass president trump's ear — at first, i was in shock. i think it really took a couple of hours for it to sink in, and i am still quite shaken by it. well, my first reaction wasjust horror. there is no place for political violence in american politics, or at least there shouldn't be. my concern, and partly my reaction was "0h, "man, this has happened," but there has been such a spike in threats against political officials, especially elected officials, but not only elected officials. mr trump was rushed to nearby butler memorial hospital. a short time later, he issued a statement. on his social media platform

truth social, mr trump said: having left hospital

without any serious injury, mr trump returned to his home in newjersey. and a few hours later, flew to milwaukee for the republican national convention — a gathering of the party which is expected to confirm him as their presidential nominee. he talked about the moments before he was hit in an interview with the washington examiner. he said "i rarely look away from the crowd. "had i not done that in that moment, well, "we would not be talking today, would we?" he also referred to his gesture to his supporters. "it is hard to describe what that felt like," he said, "but i knew that the world was looking. "i knew that history would judge this and i knew "that i had to let them know we are ok." as final preparations were being made for the convention, he told the new york post "i am not supposed to be here. "i am supposed to be dead."

i personally tweeted that this was divine intervention and that has been just repeated over and over and over. something had to be — and then there was this picture of the flag that got twisted in the wind that looked like an angel and there were just different things, and itjust depends if you are a person of faith, and if you are, then you very much subscribe to that, and if you are not a person of faith, then you might be one of these people that has been calling it a staged event or something else. how many people believe that this is divine intervention? well, i don't know how many people believe it right now. people close to donald trump are already tweeting this or putting this on social media. my guess is that for many hard—core trump supporters, they will see it within that

prism and that it will reinforce their views, and for donald trump, you know — who knows? i mean, this was a close call. condemnations of the shooting came from the highest levels of america's political establishment. my fellow americans, i want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics and to remember while we may disagree, we are not enemies. we are neighbours. we are friends, co—workers, citizens, and most importantly, we are fellow americans. we must stand together. yesterday's shooting at donald trump's rally in pennsylvania calls on all of us to take a step back, take stock of where we are, how we go forward from here. thankfully, former trump

is not seriously injured. i spoke with him last night and i am grateful he is doing well andjill and i will keep him and his family in our prayers. speaking in foreign language there was shock from many watching the events unfold from around the world. i condemn the political violence that we saw in the united states overnight. it is horrendous. there is no place for violence in any society, certainly not any democratic society, and i also send all my prayers and thoughts to the families of the victims and those who've lost their lives. like israelis, my wife sarah and i were shocked by horrific assassination attempt on the life of president donald trump.

this was not just an attack on donald trump. this was an attack on a candidate for the presidency of the united states. this was an attack on america. it was an attack on democracy. it was an attack on all the democracies. from mr trump's wife melania came a more personal reaction. she said: the fbi named the attacker as 20—year—old thomas matthew crooks. he was from bethel park in pennsylvania, around one hour from where the rally took place. crooks was a registered republican according to state photo records, but according to reuters, when he was 17,

he made a $15 donation to a political action commission that raises money for left—leaning and democratic politicians. the weapon used is believed to have been purchased legally. it is also thought that police may have found explosive materials at the home of thomas matthew crooks. he was always getting good grades on tests, everything like that. he was very passionate about history, and from what i knew from my friends, they said he was good in government—type classes, so anything in government or history, he seemed to know what he was talking about, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. he was a nice kid and i had never had an experience with him where i was like, you know, "he is not nice." he was always nice and i was always friendly to him. the man crooks shot dead was named by the pennsylvania governor as 50—year—old volunteer fire chief corey comperatore. he is believed to have died when he dived onto his family

to protect them from the gunfire. i just spoke to corey's wife and corey's two daughters. corey was a girl dad. corey was a firefighter. corey went to church every sunday. corey loved his community. and most especially, corey loved his family. corey was an avid supporter of the former president and was so excited to be there last night with him in the community. i have known him since i was probably about 10 or 11 years old when they decided to come to our church. he wasjust one of those guys. at the morning greeting a church, he would be the guy who went from one side of the church to the other, greeting people — one of those smiles that lit up the room. he was a family man, for sure, loved his wife and his daughters dearly. a major loss.

he is a man that would give the shirt off his back to anyone. in his last moments, he was shielding his family from the gunfire. even if that was just a random civilian beside him, he would have done the same thing. he was a man that just wanted to protect and serve and love. he was truly a man of love. the investigation into the shooting will put the actions of the secret service under intense scrutiny. the big question — could the attack have been prevented? you see mr trump arriving. he is on stage. everyone is very excited. he has just been shot, and within less than a second, you have got three people on that stage, which is absolutely fantastic. their training instantly kicked in. they knew what the shot was and they were on that stage before mr trump hit the ground. they got all on top of him,

which is creating this blanket of security, so if any other shots came in, they would take the shots, not mr trump. there was a slight pause. obviously, there was a bit of panic with everyone. the vehicle is then brought in to the left—hand side of the stage. my only criticism at this stage is that what i believe they should have done — and it is easy for me sat here saying this — but what they should have done is drag him off that stage so he was behind with the lectern was on the grass. from that way, he is hidden from view so if there is any more snipers, they can't see where he is. what happens is that mr trump stands up. he is asking about "can he get his shoes." they are surrounding him like a turtle shell. but that he raises his head above them, because he is a big guy, and he puts his arm in the air. now, if there was another sniper there, this is where

the problem would happen, so hence they needed to get him off the stage much, much quicker and get him in the vehicle. there is no time to be waving your hand or wanting to do a speech or shouting out. sometimes, with clients, it is very difficult because the tail sometimes wags the dog, and in this case, they let mr trump have his day, but what they should have done was off that stage, in the vehicle and driven off. we are still working through the security apparatus that the secret service had in place, what potentially happened. there is going to be a long investigation into exactly what took place and how the individual was able to get access to the location, what type of weapon he had. all of that is days, weeks and months of investigation. from what i have seen so far, the location looked a good location, and that would have been picked way in advance.

donald trump announced that he would be there ten days in advance, so the assassin would have had plenty of time to go and do his planning, but also the secret service, they should have had time to go and look at it. they should have had time to find out where the vulnerable points were, and most certainly, someone shooting at a former president from 120 metres away is a really big surprise, and i am surprised that that was not covered. later, mr trump issued another statement online. he thanked everyone for their thoughts and prayers.

it is 43 years since the last assassination attempt on a us president. ronald reagan was shot in washington, dc in march of 1981. four presidents in the history of the republic have died by the assassin�*s bullet. the pennsylvania shooting is a timely reminder that all us presidents face a lifelong threat. with november's presidential election looming, many americans are fearful over the likely impact on the race. observers have mixed views about what difference it will make. i think it is a dangerous moment. i mean, i think this will — it already is, if you spend any time on twitter or x, you know that it is fuelling conspiracy theories. it is not unimaginable that this will embolden some people who think that political violence is

an appropriate strategy. i don't think, though, that fundamentally this will change voters' attitudes towards trump. i think so much of that is baked in. there are people who are strong supporters of donald trump. this is only going to energise them. and then there are people that are strongly opposed to donald trump. i don't think this is going to fundamentally move them. the one group that is unclear to me in all this is what pollsters call the double—haters in the united states. so, these are voters that are — they are frustrated. they dislike both donald trump and joe biden. it would not surprise me if there is some movement in this group and if that gets reflected in the national

polls in general. i think one of the consequences is to reinforce the sense that i think american eyes have been developing over the last decade or so that the us really is an incredibly polarised society. it is one where violence is increasingly prevalent. there is such a stark level of polarisation between these two sides, the right and the left of american politics, in this. it is almost baked—in instability. this is a real battle of world views between the two sides of the kind we are not used to seeing in american politics. well, it is much bigger because it says something about what is going on with our culture, the state of america. you know, they are trying to say that it was all this rhetoric and everything — no. if we go back, one of the reasons that trump won

in 2016 was because he had his finger on the pulse of the public, he knew what we were thinking and he said it out loud. he still has his finger on the pulse of the public and he is highlighting what the concerns are. there is an enormous amount of anger, frankly, with the media because they keep feeding into the division, and if you — i have spent a lot of time on capitol hill — if you see the politicians from each side, they are buddy—buddy, but then for the camera, they act like they are not buddy—buddy, and they take their stand, they plant their flag on their different hills, but that is not really what people should be paying attention to. they should be paying attention to either side that has an enormous amount of anger about the way our country has been run.

i do not think it is a secret that most west european leaders, for instance, would prefer it ifjoe biden won the election. i think one of the concerns is, at this very early stage, it looks like the incident in pennsylvania will give a boost to the trump campaign but in a broader view, one of the things happening to the united states, irrespective of who wins in november, is american foreign policy is changing. america is less open to free trade and globalisation. we will have to wait and see how trump and other republicans play this moment at the convention, whether they wrap themselves in religious fervour or whether they see this more as a moment to try to bring americans together, to dial down the intense rhetoric in the us. and while it is not going to lead to some kind of kumbaya

moment in the united states, there is a possibility that it could lead to greater stability in politics. history can only really be judged in retrospect but i will take a guess that this event will go down as one of those moments. the question for leaders of public opinion in this country is what will they now choose to do? to inflame or to calm, to further divide or to reunite?

live from washington. this is bbc news. us presidentjoe biden addresses the country publicly for the first time about his decision to exit the presidential race. nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu delivered an address to a special session of the us congress. as thousands protesters take to the streets of washington

to criticise mr netanyahu's visit and israel's war in gaza. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. in an oval office address to the country, us president joe biden explained why he decided to exit the us presidential race in an oval office address on wednesday. the address marked the first timejoe biden has spoken publicly since he announced he was dropping out of the race just three days ago. he made the decision while in self—isolation with covid—19 at his home in delaware, following days of political fallout after a poor debate performance against former president trump in june. the 81—year—old president said the decision to step aside was a matter of defending democracy. i believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for america's future all merited a second term but nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. that includes

personal ambition. so i have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch