'EXTREMELY LUCKY'
Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy who took bullet for Reagan says ‘this can’t happen in our country’ over Trump shooting
McCarthy said that if Trump was "an inch to the right he'd be dead"
A SECRET Service agent who took a bullet for former president Ronald Reagan during the shocking 1981 assassination attempt has weighed in on the Trump rally shooting.
On Saturday during a rally in Pennsylvania, former president Donald Trump was shot at during an assassination attempt that left his face bloody as he was hastily shielded by Secret Service agents.
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"This is an attempted assassination of the former president of the United States and the soon-to-be nominee," Tim McCarthy said to ABC affiliate WLS-TV on Saturday, adding that it was a "very serious matter."
"It gets really tough out there on the campaign trail and people's emotions run high," McCarthy continued.
"But this cannot happen in our country," he declared.
McCarthy was injured in the line of duty in 1981 when John Warnock Hinckley Jr. tried to kill then-president Ronald Reagan in Washington DC.
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McCarthy told CBS affiliate WBBM-TV that Trump was extremely lucky he survived the attempt on Saturday.
According to the agent, "If that round had been another inch or two to the right, I suspect he would have been seriously injured if not killed.
"It's a terrible, terrible situation. He's extremely lucky."
McCarthy praised the work of the agents protecting the former president.
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"Unfortunately, in almost every firefight, the bad guys get off the first round because it isn't humanly possible to react instantaneously," he said.
"But you're going to react shortly thereafter, and it appears they did."
‘Get down!’Hot mic captures what was said as frantic secret service swarmed bleeding Trump and shots ring out
"They covered him, clearly, got him to the ground, got their bodies in between, which they should have," McCarthy continued.
"There is no security that's foolproof. That doesn't exist, not in a free society like we have."
Shots rang out at Trump's rally on Saturday as the former president spoke to his supporters in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Video then showed the former president, who was only minutes into his speech, bleeding from his ear as he touched it and looked at his hand before being swarmed by agents.
Donald Trump's Full Statement Post-Rally Shooting
Former president Donald Trump provided an update on Truth Social after the shooting that took place at his Pennsylvania rally on July 13.
"I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania.
"Most importantly, 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.
"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. GOD BLESS AMERICA!"
During the ensuing chaos, many supporters were seen ducking to avoid the shots.
Trump was safely led away by Secret Service and rushed to the hospital, where his team announced that he was doing fine.
The shooter was shot dead by snipers minutes after shooting Trump and was later identified as 20-year-old Pennsylvania native Thomas Matthew Crooks.
It was revealed that Crooks managed to perch himself on the roof of a nearby manufacturing plant about 200 feet from the crowd.
According to the FBI, Crooks had no identification on him and was identified through his DNA.
If that round had been another inch or two to the right, I suspect he would have been seriously injured if not killed... He's extremely lucky.
Tim McCarthy
Pictures showed armed cops standing over his body on the roof, with an AR-15 reportedly recovered nearby.
Investigators later found several "explosive devices" in Crooks' car.
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The car driven by the shooter was found parked near Trump's rally, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Cops said they received many reports of suspicious packages around the parked car.
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