The FBI clarified Friday that a bullet struck former President Donald Trump during an attempt against his life in a rally on July 13.
An attempted assassin present near a Trump rally in Pennsylvania on July 13 opened fire and injured the former president before he was neutralized by the Secret Service. FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress on Thursday that there were still “some questions” as to what exactly had struck Trump during the assassination attempt, whether it was a “bullet or shrapnel,” though did not directly mention whether glass fragments could be responsible, a theory that has been used by some in the media.
The FBI confirmed in a statement on Friday that it was indeed a bullet that hit Trump.
“What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,” the FBI told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement.
Trump took to social media on Friday to respond to the FBI’s statement, which was made public to several outlets.
“I assume that’s the best apology that we’ll get from Director Wray, but it is fully accepted!” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Friday.
Trump’s former physician and Republican Texas Rep. Ronny Jackson said in a letter earlier on Friday that both he and the hospital where Trump was treated for the injuries directly confirmed that “there is absolutely no evidence that it was anything other than a bullet.” Some corporate media figures, including MSNBC’s Michael Steele, Ari Melber and Joy Reid, had publicly called into question what had hit Trump that day and the nature of the injury.
Secret Service has been widely decried for its failure to secure the rally and prevent the would-be assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, from nearly killing Trump on July 13. Crooks was able to get onto the roof of a building located only hundreds of feet away from where Trump was speaking and open fire on the president, and was not killed by law enforcement until after he had struck Trump in the ear with a bullet and killed a rally attendee.
Secret Service was reportedly made aware of Crooks’ suspicious presence at the rally nearly an hour before he shot Trump. Several rally attendees attempted to direct law enforcement’s attention to Crooks’ before he opened fire.
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday after being berated by Republican and Democratic lawmakers for her failure to ensure that the rally would be safe.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include comment from the FBI.
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