US reels after assassination attempt on Trump at rally

The US was reeling yesterday after a gunman evaded Secret Service agents to open fire on Donald Trump at a political rally, in an attempted assassination that upended the race for the White House and prompted Joe Biden to order an urgent review into security breaches.

- Ramon Antonio Vargas , Joanna Walters , Michael Sainato

The attack from a rooftop in Butler, Pennsylvania - the first time a president or leading party candidate for the White House has been shot since Ronald Reagan in 1981 - was met with shock around the world. It has triggered fears of more political violence amid an increasingly fraught election campaign as America endures one of the most contentious periods of its modern history.

In dramatic scenes and amid the mass presence of law enforcement agents, the gunman used an AR-15-style rifle to fire shots at the rally, hitting Trump's right ear and streaking his face with blood. He later described a bullet whizzing by while he was speaking An attender at the rally, a former fire chief, was killed and Secret Service agents shot dead the suspect, with witnesses reporting that someone outside the rally alerted police that they had seen the armed suspect heading to the roof but officers did not respond.

Bomb-making materials were found in the suspect's vehicle and home, US media reported yesterday.

Biden said: "There is no place in America for this kind of violence or any violence for that matter. An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for as a nation." Speaking at a White House press conference, he added: "Unity is the most elusive goal of all, but nothing is more important than that right now.

Unity. We'll debate and disagree, that's not going to change, but we’re not going to lose sight of who we are as Americans.”

After the attack Trump was taken to a hospital for evaluation and then reportedly discharged at about 10.20pm local time. Aides said yesterday morning that he was fi ne, in “great spirits and doing well”.