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(NewsNation) — Following a shooting Saturday at a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, law enforcement sources say they’re investigating the attack as an attempted assassination.
The attack, by a shooter who law enforcement officials say was then killed by the Secret Service, is the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.
The president, according to Trump campaign officials, is “fine.”
The Secret Service said one rally attendee was killed and two were critically injured. The agency said the shooter fired from “an elevated position outside the rally venue.”
Two officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation said the shooter was not an attendee.
Law enforcement recovered an AR-style rifle at the scene, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation.
The officials said the shooter was engaged by members of the U.S. Secret Service counterassault team and killed.
Witnesses told media outlets they saw the suspected shooter on a roof outside the rally.
Easton Smith, who was outside of the security perimeter at the rally, said he saw a man climbing up the roof of a nearby building.
“Didn’t know what he was doing, trying to alert cops and police there was a guy crawling on the roof,” Smith said. “Then we saw a rifle slinged over his shoulder. After that, a couple shots fired off.”
The heavily armed tactical team travels everywhere with the president and major party nominees and is meant to confront any active threats while other agents focus on safeguarding and evacuating the person at the center of protection.
Trump was examined at a Butler, Pa. medical facility after shots were reportedly fired at the event. Trump ducked behind a podium and was rushed off by the Secret Service. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he felt a bullet hit his ear during the shooting.
He was later released from the medical facility.
This incident is currently under investigation. and the Secret Service has notified the FBI,” said Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi.
The FBI said it has assumed the role of the lead federal law enforcement agency in the investigation.
Police soon told the people remaining to leave the venue and U.S. Secret Service agents told reporters to get “out now. This is a live crime scene.”
Two firefighters from nearby Steubenville, Ohio, who were at the rally told the AP that they helped people who appeared injured and heard bullets hitting broadcast speakers.
“The bullets rattled around the grandstand, one hit the speaker tower and then chaos broke. We hit the ground and then the police converged into the grandstands, said Chris Takach.
“After we heard the shots got fired, then the hydraulic line was spraying all around, you could see the hydraulic fluid coming out of it. And then the speaker tower started to fall down,” Sullivan said. “Then we heard another shot that, you could hear, you knew something was, it was bullets. It wasn’t firecrackers.”
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
