Washington: Conspiracies, false claims, and unsupported assertions broke the internet on Saturday following the latest assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania. Describing the horrifying experience, the 78-year-old candidate said that he felt as if a bullet had ripped through his skin.
Amidst the incident, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee took his social media platform and said, “I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong when 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 78-year-old added after being rushed to the local hospital.
However, some reports indicate that Trump was hit by a glass fragment rather than a bullet. Meanwhile, Trump’s description of the event has not deterred conspiracy theorists from questioning the ‘authenticity‘ of the incident.
During the rally, the suspected shooter fired as many as nine shots, which claimed the life of one person while two others sustained critical injuries. Meanwhile, the suspect, along with another individual, was reportedly shot dead by the Secret Service, who safely rescued the former President of the United States from the site.
An extensive investigation is underway.
Was Trump Hit by Glass Fragments Rather Than Bullets?
Recounting his account of surviving, Donald Trump on Truth Social described it as an assassination attempt, where he claimed that a bullet had pierced his ear and caused bleeding.
However, according to RawStory, law enforcement officials have reportedly informed two sources that Trump was not hit by a bullet but by glass shards or fragments instead.
Meanwhile, reports from Newsmax’s Alex Salvi and Axios’ Juliegrace Brufke stated that officials also mentioned that Trump was struck by glass pieces, possibly from the teleprompter that broke due to the gunfire.
The details of the incident remain unclear, and an official statement is awaited.
Trump’s Haters Say Attack Was Planned
Even though Trump described it as an “assassination attempt,” it didn’t stop people from spreading rumors that it was fake.
On X, conspiracy theories and false information about the incident gained traction just minutes after it occurred.
As the video of the incident went viral on the platform, racking up millions of views almost instantly, the term “staged” surged to become the second-highest trending topic right after “Trump,” with over 228,000 posts using the term. Within an hour, countless posts on X alleging that the shooting was staged accumulated several million views. However, there is no evidence to support these claims—the injuries sustained by Trump were visible, and the incident resulted in one spectator’s death and another’s injury.
On the other hand, Meta’s Instagram and Threads echoed the sentiments but to a much smaller audience.
“Antifa” also became one of the trending topics on X after social media posts seemingly misidentified the gunman responsible for Saturday’s shooting.
The posts accused a “prominent Antifa activist,” Mark Violets, of being responsible. As of Saturday evening, law enforcement had not publicly identified the shooter or disclosed any information about his background.
(Inputs from agencies)
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