Trump says he was shot in the right ear in statement from hospital after rally in Pennsylvania

• READ MORE: Follow all the developments of Trump's attempted assassination  

Donald Trump revealed he was shot in his right ear during a horrific assassination attempt at his Pennsylvania rally and knew something was wrong when he heard a 'whizzing' sound. 

The former president described feeling the bullet 'ripping through my skin' when a gunman opened fire from a rooftop just over 100 yards away. 

The 78-year-old was dragged off stage by Secret Service with blood covering his face and then pumped his fist and shouted 'fight, fight, fight' after the gunfire rang out in front of thousands of MAGA fans.

Trump confirmed he was hit in a statement from hospital hours after the terrifying scene unfolded. 

Images of the presumptive Republican nominee standing up beneath an American flag and staring out into the crowd of thousands chanting 'USA, USA' are set to become some of the most defining in history. 

The gunman and a member of the crowd were killed and two others were taken to hospital in a critical condition after the shooting at 6.15pm on Saturday night.

The suspect fired at least eight shots from the roof where his body and an AR-style rifle were later recovered. 

Secret Service agents then opened fire and shot him dead as the crowd screamed and the former president was rushed off stage into his motorcade, with his fist raised and blood still on his face.

Now there are calls for the Secret Service and law enforcement to be investigated after witnesses said they warned officers and agents that an armed man was bear-crawling on the roof moments before.

'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. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening,' the former president wrote on his Truth Social account.

Trump was rushed to a hospital and put under observation, but was released a short time later.

His campaign said he will still attend the Republican National Convention, which begins on Monday in Milwaukee. There Trump will formally be nominated as the GOP presidential nominee and he will pick his running mate.

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In the wake of the shooting, photos show the former president clutching his ear as the shots rang out. Blood was seen trickling down his face and from his ear.

The shots rang out shortly after Trump started to address the crowd in the critical battleground state. 

In the moments after the shooting, voices could be heard screaming as Secret Service agents pushed Trump to the floor and covered him.

Seconds later, the blood-covered lawmaker pumped his fist in the air to indicate that he was fine, while surrounded by Secret Service agents, before being led away. 

In his statement, Trump thanked the Secret Service and extended his condolences to the family of the person who was killed at the rally. 

As a former president, Trump has 24/7 Secret Service protection. 

'I want to extend my condolences to the family of the person at the Rally who was killed, and also to the family of another person that was badly injured. 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,' Trump said.

Officials said the incident was being investigated as an assassination attempt. 

Trump was mid-sentence, saying 'Take a look at what happened' when the shots began to ring out shortly before 6pm ET, with terrified screams filling the air as he and onlookers dived to the ground. 

Dramatic footage that has swept the world showed popping sounds ring out as the 2024 presidential hopeful was on stage addressing a large crowd of supporters.

Trump could be seen ducking as screams rang out and fans in MAGA t-shirts stood behind him threw themselves to the ground. 

Secret Service agents rushed the stage to cover the president. They eventually led him off stage and into his motorcade. 

As they did Trump pumped his fist in the air and appeared to mouth the word 'Fight' twice his crowd of supporters, prompting loud cheers and then chants of 'USA. USA. USA.' 

Trump could also be heard repeatedly asking: 'Let me get my shoes.' 

It took two minutes from the moment of the first shot for Trump to be placed in a waiting SUV. 

The attack, by a shooter who law enforcement officials say was then killed by the Secret Service, was the first attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. 

The Secret Service's counter sniper team took out the shooter - who they said was outside the perimeter of the show grounds, several hundred yards away from the stage.

A witness told the BBC that agents blew the shooter's head off.

The witness was asked if he saw what happened to the shooter, the man said: 'Oh yeah. They blew his head off. Secret service blew his head off.'

When asked if he was sure he was shot, he replied: 'Absolutely, 100 per cent, yep.'

He then described how he saw the Secret Service climb onto the roof after the shooter had been killed, with images from social media appearing to show his version of events.

The man said the shooter was wearing tan clothes and holding a rifle, but he was not able to make out which type.

He said: 'We noticed a guy crawling, you know army, bear crawling up the roof of the building 50ft away from us.

'So we are standing there pointing at the guy crawling up the roof, he had a rifle, we could clearly see he had a rifle.'

Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger told reporters the shooter is dead and that a bystander had also been killed in the bloodbath. 

Goldinger said he was told by detectives that the gunman was on the roof of a building adjacent to the event, and said the shooting 'would have required a rifle' as it 'was several hundred yards' away.

The identities of the shooter and the dead bystander have not yet been confirmed.

Law enforcement recovered AR-style rifle at scene of Trump rally shooting, a source told the Associated Press. 

Trump's allies and Democratic foes alike denounced the incident.

President Joe Biden said there was no place for 'sick' political violence in America and said he was grateful that Trump was safe.

'There's no place in America this kind of violence. It's sick. It's sick,' he said.

'It's one of the reasons we have to unite this country.'

The president said he was trying to reach Trump.

Former President Barack Obama has also condemned the shooting, saying: 'There is absolutely no place for political violence in our democracy. 

'Although we don't yet know exactly what happened, we should all be relieved that former President Trump wasn't seriously hurt, and use this moment to recommit ourselves to civility and respect in our politics. 

'Michelle and I are wishing him a quick recovery.'