The gunshots sounded like high-pitched, low, muffled cracks in the sky.
Donald Trump, the former president who is set to accept the Republican nomination in five days, was less than 10 minutes into his speech to a crowd of tens of thousands. A mile-long line of cars had trudged for hours to usher the crowd through metal detectors and bag checks, as they do at every Trump event, until the verdant fairground was transformed into a sea of red hats.
Trump was nearly an hour late, and his supporters waited impatiently under a blazing sun and blaring music. In the middle of the crowd, across from the stage, a platform of television cameras was trained on the podium, under which journalists had huddled for shade.
Finally, as usual, Mr. Trump came out to shouts of “USA” and marveled: “This is a great crowd. This is a great, great, great crowd.” A bright red MAGA (Make America Great Again) cap hid his eyes, and his white shirt was open in the heat as he leaned his arms on the lectern.
He launched into his speech, but quickly grew tired of the prepared script. He offered to invite Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick to speak, but McCormick wasn’t ready.
“You don’t mind if I step away from the teleprompter, do you?” Mr. Trump joked. “Because these teleprompters are so boring.” He asked to show “this chart that I love so much,” showing border crossings during his and Joe Biden’s presidencies, and expressed surprise when his producers obliged, projecting the document on the giant screens on either side. “You get better with time.”
He pointed to one of the screens, chronicling the increase in immigration since he left office in 2021. “Look what’s happened to our country!”
The blows came in pairs, five or six in total. Trump tapped his ear, as if hearing a mosquito. Then he hunched his shoulders and ducked.
“Down, down, down!” Secret Service agents shouted as they rushed onto the stage and surrounded it. The crowd roared. Another round of sharp claps. More screams. People in the stands behind Trump moved hesitantly, unsure where to go. People sitting in chairs or standing crouched or jumped to the ground. A thick cloud of smoke hung to the right of the stage, then quickly dispersed.
Another shot.
Secret Service agents in suits rushed onto the stage, followed by men dressed in black, wearing bulletproof vests and helmets, and carrying assault rifles. The crowd began to scream in confusion.
One of the officers said, “Is that okay?” He could be heard over the microphone on the podium.
“The shooter is down,” another replied.
“We are ready to move.”
” The way is clear ? “
” It’s good ! “
“Let me put my shoes on,” Trump says, as the agents lift him up.
“I’ve got you, sir.”
“Wait, your head is bloody.”
“Let me put my shoes on,” he says again, as the officers form a circle around him.
The crowd, seeing him standing, began to cheer.
“Wait,” Trump said, raising his fist. “Fight!” he said. “Fight!”
People then roared and chanted again: “USA!”
An officer said, “We need to move.” Leaning on guards for help, Mr. Trump kept his fist raised as he limped offstage, down the stairs and into his black SUV. A black dress shoe remained on the stage’s red carpet.
Agents—from the Secret Service, the county sheriff, the state police, the Department of Homeland Security—began telling the crowd to evacuate, declaring the site a crime scene. Supporters poured out, calling and texting family and friends, and recording videos. The crowd was shocked but calm.
As people walked past the press boxes where the cameras were located, some vented their anger on the media.
“You are not safe. It is your fault.”
“You wanted political violence, you got it. I hope you’re damn happy.”
“The shot heard around the world.”
“The liberal media is responsible!”
“Every fucking one of you!”
Others sought out the cameras to offer their testimonies, but these were confused and sometimes contradictory amid the panic.
The crowd headed to the parking lot, some stopping to buy a last-minute hot dog or snow cone.
A man with a cane curled up behind the toilet where he vomited.
They returned to their cars past waving Trump flags and a long line of vendors selling MAGA hats, mugshot T-shirts, Trump key chains, vulgar bumper stickers and Trump visors topped with bright orange fake hair.
A man with a bullhorn and a “JAN 6 SURVIVOR” T-shirt called on people to march down Main Street, “peacefully and patriotically,” echoing Trump’s speech on the Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021. Most people ignored him. One young man accused him of being an undercover federal agent and told him to shut up.
They left behind the field littered with empty plastic water bottles. A giant American flag, hoisted by two cranes, fluttered above the empty white stands, lined with red, white and blue garlands.