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Rep Ronny Jackson has revealed that his nephew is among the victims injured in the assassination attempt on Donald Trump that left one victim dead and two critically injured.
The Republican lawmaker of Texas said that his family had been sitting close to the front of the crowd at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when gunshots rang out minutes after Trump took to the stage.
His nephew, who was not identified, was “grazed” in the neck by a bullet in the shooting.
“Thankfully his injury was not serious and he is doing well,” he said in a statement.
“My family was sitting in the front, near where the President was speaking. They heard shots ringing out — my nephew then realized he had blood on his neck and something had grazed and cut his neck.”
Jackson said that his nephew was treated by medical staff at the rally’s medical tent.
“Please join my family and me in praying for all who were injured and the life lost. The President and the survivors are lucky to be alive,” he added.
The congressman told Fox News that it was a “horrific, horrific experience” for his family.
One attendee was killed in the shooting and two others left critically injured in the attack on the former president at Saturday’s rally, authorities said.
The victims are yet to be publicly identified but Lt Col George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police confirmed that all three were adult men.
Trump was speaking to attendees on stage when suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from his position perched on the building of a nearby rooftop outside of the rally’s security perimeter.
Screams filled the air as gunshots rang out and Trump leaped for cover, ducking down under his lectern on the stage.
The former president was rushed off stage by Secret Service to a waiting vehicle, his face bloodied and raising a defiant fist to the crowd.
Crooks, a 20-year-old resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was killed by Secret Service agents at the scene, authorities said.
Trump later took to Truth Social, speaking out about the moment he said he was shot in the ear and thanking Secret Service and law enforcement for their rapid response.
“I 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.
“Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.
“It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country. Nothing is known at this time about the shooter, who is now dead.”
The former president was seen landing back in New Jersey later on Saturday night.
President Joe Biden has since spoken to Trump about the incident, after he condemned the “sick” violence and said it has “no place in America”.
“Look, there’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country,” he said.
“We cannot allow for this to be happening. We cannot be like this. We cannot condone this.”
The president has since returned to the White House.
Now, questions are being asked about the Secret Service detail at the rally – and how the gunman was able to carry out the attack.
