The alleged perpetrator of the attack against the American right-wing presidential candidate Donald Trump has been “neutralized”, as announced by the federal police force responsible for the protection of personalities in the USA (Secret Service).

The attack took place at around 18:15 (local time; 01:15 Greek time), according to the corps representative.

Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger told CNN earlier that the gunman who opened fire was outside the Secret Service’s security perimeter. “I don’t know how he got there, or where he was, but he was outside” of the venue where the campaign event was taking place, he explained.

The alleged assailant fired repeatedly from an elevated position “outside the gathering area”, while accounts of a man in camouflage clothing with a gun in hand walking around the area where the speech was being held.

According to foreign media, the gunman was on the roof of a factory at a distance of about 100 meters from the place where the pre-election speech was held.

Trump is safe

The former American president is “safe”, while in his post on the social networking platform Truth Social, Donald Trump says: “I was shot with a bullet that went through the upper part of my right ear”.

Video on the X platform claims to show the alleged attacker lying dead, while a photo on the same platform shows police removing the gunman.

One dead and two seriously injured

A Trump supporter who was watching the speech was also killed by the gunfire at the pre-election speech, while two more are hospitalized in serious condition. “One bystander was killed, two others were injured and are in critical condition. The incident is currently under investigation and the Secret Service has formally notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” said Butler County, Pennsylvania, District Attorney Richard Goldinger.

There is currently no information on the identity of the perpetrator

Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger, speaking to CNN, said there was panic at the time of the shooting. “It was really crazy,” he said.

At the same time, he said that the authorities do not have any information about the identity of the alleged perpetrator.

Butler County, Goldinger said, is just north of Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is. The county is about 65 percent Republican and is partly rural, he said.

Harris returns

Vice President Kamala Harris was briefed on the incident at former President Donald Trump’s rally, according to her office. Harris returns to Washington from her tour of Philadelphia.