The mood was upbeat and there “didn’t seem to be anything wrong at all”, Jason Vecchio, a man who attended the Trump campaign rally in Pensylvannia on Saturday, told NDTV. Mr Vechhio, who was 150 steps away from the stage, said that it was a very positive experience until the former president was shot at and then a kind of “confusion and fear set in”.
“There didn’t seem to be anything wrong at all. We had seen the secret service snipers up on top of the building … Everybody was laughing, we were dancing before. There were a lot of good vibes going on. Everyone was talking, having nice conversations. There were families, children. There were old people. It was a very positive experience up until then. Nothing made us think that there is going to be any attack,” said Mr Vechhio.
The 78-year-old former president was injured but survived an assassination attempt, a brazen attack that shocked a nation already deeply polarized ahead of the November election.
“Those bullets whizzed by him, hit the machine and the boom comes down because it hit a hydraulic line. We see secret service jump on top of him, to shield him and protect him. It wasn’t like instantly that we knew what was going on. Definitely sounded like gunfire because I have been around firearms. We get down, heard the gunfire stop. At that point I ran over to the fence, I hopped over the fence and took cover under a police car just because I wasn’t sure there was a secondary shooter or if a shooter was in the crowd. No one had any idea where the shooter was. So I just wanted to be in the safest place I could be in.
“And then we all watched Trump stand up and put his fist in the air and we all stood up and started chanting. It was quite an experience. It was quite a moving moment to see him stand up after we all just thought he died. And then I walked over to the fence and walked over to my buddies and together we opened the fence and started funneling everybody through the exit,” said Mr Vechhio, recounting what he saw at the event.
Trump was speaking when multiple bangs rang out. He clutched his ear, with blood visible on his ear and cheek, then ducked to the floor as Secret Service agents swarmed onto the podium, surrounding him and rushing him to a nearby vehicle.
“We were definitely confused at first. I think the fear kind of set in a little afterwards. I tried to make sure my friends were safe. After a few hours had passed, it kind of sink in a little more today what the true severity of the whole event was. This will go down in history and will be taught in schools,” said Mr Vechhio.
Iconic images of a bloodied Trump waving his fist after the shooting are already galvanizing Republican hopes that voters will further rally behind him for a landslide victory in November.
“Immediately I saw him stand up. I was already standing at that point trying to look for my friends. The crowd was all looking up towards him. I looked up. I see him put his fist up, it was a sight to remember. The man had just got shot. We all thought he was dead. And he stood up and was so like patriotic when he said fight and put his hand up in the air. It was surreal. He wasn’t scared. He was like this is my fight, we are going to win. Here we are, I am alive. He was as proud an American as I have ever seen,” Mr Vechhio said.
The Secret Service faces intense scrutiny over how a gunman aiming an assault rifle was allowed to take position on a roof some 500 feet (150 meters) from one of the most protected political figures on the planet.
“There’s always more to it. There’s always stuff. We are going to be finding stuff out in the next few weeks. We’ve already found out a lot in past 24 hours. But there’s always more to the story that is not very obvious. The whole situation was kind of strange that a single person was able to put a ladder up on to a building that was so close. That building had a great vantage point of the whole thing. So why did the Secret Service not secure the building or didn’t have a member of the security up on that building to make sure something like this did not happen.
“It is just crazy to me that those security measure were not taken. This is negligent on the part of whoever was making the decisions. And since then we have also heard that, I can’t say whether it is true or not, we’ve heard that the gentleman who had taken the shot had sights on him about three minutes and he was being told not to take the shot… I am looking forward to figure out what the truth is in the next coming days and weeks,” said Mr Vechhio casting doubts on the ex president’s security detail.
Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old gunman who opened fire at Trump, was shot dead on the spot by Secret Service snipers. He appears to have acted alone but there’s more to the probe, said the FBI.
The spectator who died in the shooting that targeted Trump was identified as Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old firefighter and father of two.
“It definitely makes me angry. That gentleman was there with his daughter and wife as I was with my friends to show support for a politician that we support and we were having fun. He was there with his loved one showing support for their politician and to lose his life that day I just want to send my most sincere condolences to his family. It’s tragic. It’s very sad. I wish he still had his life,” said Mr Vechhio.
Biden has sought to strike a presidential tone over the shooting, coming out quickly with a message of unity.
“We have been pretty divided over these past few years. Think there is good potential for this current event to actually bring Americans together and make America strong as a country. And bring us the success and make us great again,” said Me Vecchio.
Pressed to answer what it is about Trump that he likes, Mr vechhio said, “He always has been a character, he always will be. He’s fun to watch. I am definitely looking forward to hear him talk.”