Early claims Trump hit by glass fragments undermined by New York Times photos
Brad Reed
July 14, 2024 12:29PM ET
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Early claims Trump hit by glass fragments undermined by New York Times photos
BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 13: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage by U.S. Secret Service agents after being grazed by a bullet during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Law enforcement officials claimed to two different sources that former President Donald Trump was not grazed by a bullet but rather by glass shards.
The officials in question told both Newsmax's Alex Salvi and Axios' Juliegrace Brufke that Trump was hit by glass shards that may have erupted from the shattering of a teleprompter that was hit by gunfire. Brufke appears to have removed the tweet with the initial claim.
Trump himself later said in a post to Truth Social that his ear was hit by a bullet. And a photograph by New York Times reporter Doug Mills appears to show the bullet. Two other photos Mills took showed Trump being hit in the right ear by the bullet. That photo is available at this link.
The Secret Service did not immediately confirm Trump had been hit by a bullet.
Speaking to the Times, retired FBI special agent Michael Harrigan, a 22-year veteran of the bureau, commented on the photos.
“It absolutely could be showing the displacement of air due to a projectile,” Harrigan said in an interview after reviewing Mills' images. “The angle seems a bit low to have passed through his ear, but not impossible if the gunman fired multiple rounds.”
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