On Saturday, former President Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to get less than 150 meters away from a rooftop according to the Associated Press, where he fired the shot that hit Trump.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said he was “shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.”
The country has been reacting to the shooting which has led to a variety of dialogue about the assassination attempt including condemnations from Georgia leaders and President Joe Biden.
AccessWDUN spoke to Gainesville residents on the square Monday to get community reactions.
“I can’t remember the last time this happened, and also, it was so incredibly close that it was hard to believe,” Zion Goins said.
Goins likened the incident to the September 11 attacks in the sense that it was a shell-shocking national story.
“Surprise and shock,” Irina said. “It’s absurd. It’s just absurd, you think you get past things.”
Irina questioned security measures, saying that the attack puts everyone at risk.
“Whether or not you’re for or against Donald Trump, the fact that it’s that easy to take out a candidate is never a good thing,” she said. “That means all your candidates are at risk, so it’s a little bit upsetting.”
Christy Hill was going to dinner when she got the news.
“I feel like most Americans are just very worried about where we’re going and why our country is so divided,” Hill said.
Barbara Burnham echoed a similar sentiment.
“The violence in our country just seems to me to be escalating,” she said.
Goins added that America is a place of differing opinions, where something like this should not happen.
“In general this is eye-opening for people in the sense that we can disagree and not be violent towards one another,” he said. “That’s the beauty of America is being able to have a differing opinion and not wanting to harm each other.”
Hill added that she believes the Saturday assassination attempt will help Trump’s election bid.
“Unfortunately I’m sad that it had to happen this way, but I think it was probably good for his campaign,” she said.
The FBI is still investigating the details of the incident.
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