Those who attended Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania last night -- and were witnesses to a shocking assassination attempt -- were not allowed to carry purses and security checks took nearly two hours, a woman who was at the gathering has told The Washington Post.
Fifty-one-year-old Melissa Shaffert is an English teacher and went to the rally at Butler with her boyfriend. She usually carried a concealed firearm and knife, but left them at home yesterday because she knew they wouldn't be allowed. Purses were not allowed and it took them 1-2 hours to get through the scanners, she has told the Post. "They took everything out and they took their time," she said.
About 50 feet from the stage, she said, were two tractors and giant combines. "I thought: 'I'm sure glad no one can get a weapon in here because someone could stand on the [equipment] and we'd be sitting ducks,'" she said hours after the former President was shot at. While Trump suffered a bullet injury in his right ear, one of those attending the rally died and two others were critically injured in the shooting.
Shaffert recounted that the Republican leader had started talking about illegal immigration when she heard loud, abrupt sounds and thought they were fireworks. She then heard "whistles" and "whizzes."
"I thought: That's bullets. I said: 'Get your head down!'"
She said that chaos broke out as the crowd realised that they were caught in a shooting and that she did not immediately realise that Trump was injured. "People were laying on the ground Then everyone was staying calm and helping each other get up. People were like: 'Are you OK? Are you OK?'" Shaffert said.
Shaffert and her boyfriend somehow managed to make their way to the car and left the spot. It's only when they reached home that they realised the extent of what had happened.
"It's devastating. That a presidential nominee has been shot is unbelievable," she told the Post. "It's very scary. I don't feel like proper precautions are being taken," she added.
The FBI, which is investigating the assassination attempt, has identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the shooter. He was gunned down soon after the shooting.
Asked how the gunman was able to fire several shots before he was neutralised, FBI Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek said it was "surprising". Asked about security, he said Secret Service "needs to answer that question."
"They do the initial security assessments and determine where the different security locations should be. And they're the ones who are in charge of securing the scene," he said.
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