Desk Report:

Donald Trump was shot in the ear during a Saturday campaign rally, streaking the Republican presidential candidate’s blood across his face and prompting his security agents to swarm him.

The shooter was dead, one rally attendee was killed and two other spectators were injured, the Secret Service said in a statement. The incident was being investigated as an assassination attempt, a source told Reuters.

Donald Trump, 78, had just started his speech when the shots rang out. He grabbed his right ear with his right hand, then brought his hand down to look at it before dropping to his knees behind the podium before Secret Service agents swarmed and covered him.

He emerged about a minute later, his red “Make America Great Again” hat knocked off, and could be heard saying “wait, wait,” before the fist bump, then agents rushed him to a black SUV.

“I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear,” Trump said later on his Truth Social platform following the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles (50 km) north of Pittsburgh. “Much bleeding took place.”

The shooter’s identity and motive were not immediately clear. Leading Republicans and Democrats quickly condemned the violence.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said Trump has left the Butler area under the protection of the U.S. Secret Service with the assistance of the Pennsylvania state police.

Republican U.S. Representative Daniel Meuser told CNN Trump was headed to Bedminster, New Jersey, where he has a golf club.

The shooting occurred less than four months before the November 5 election, when Trump faces an election rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Trump following the shooting, a  White House official said. “There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it,” Biden said in a statement.

Republican U.S. Representative Ronny Jackson of Texas told Fox News his nephew had been wounded at the rally.

The shooting raised immediate questions about security failures by the Secret Service, which provides former presidents including Trump with lifetime protection.

The United States has a history of political violence and presidents, former presidents, and candidates have tight security.

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 while riding in his motorcade, and his brother Bobby Kenndy was shot dead in 1968. President Ronald Reagan survived an assassination attempt in 1981, reports AFP.