SINGAPORE: Singapore Premier Lawrence Wong has publicly condemned the alleged assassination attempt involving former US President Donald Trump, labelling it as a deplorable act of violence.
In a statement released on social media this afternoon (14 July), Mr Wong asserted that violence is never a solution, no matter what differences there may be. He wrote:
“I was shocked to hear about the assassination attempt on Mr Donald Trump. I am relieved to hear reports that he is safe and recovering well.
Our thoughts are also with the family of the deceased and those injured and impacted by the senseless attack. We should never resort to violence regardless of any differences of views.”
The incident occurred during a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania. Mr Trump, the 45th President of the United States and the presumptive Republican Party nominee for the 2024 presidential election, was shot in the upper right ear.
The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, managed to fire eight rounds from an AR–15–style semi-automatic rifle before being neutralized by a Secret Service Counter Assault Team sniper.
Witnesses and law enforcement officials reported that Crooks had positioned himself on a roof outside the rally venue.
After Mr Trump was shot, he immediately ducked to the ground and was quickly surrounded by Secret Service personnel.
Despite bleeding from his right ear, Mr Trump reportedly rose to his feet and pumped his fist into the air, shouting “fight, fight” before being rushed to a vehicle by the Secret Service.
He was subsequently taken to a hospital, where he was treated and released in stable condition before departing for New Jersey. Unfortunately, the shooting resulted in the death of a rally attendee and left two other attendees critically injured.
The incident is being thoroughly investigated as an attempted assassination. This marks a grim milestone as the first time a former or current U.S. president has been injured in such an attack since then-President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.
It is also the first attempted assassination of a presidential candidate since George Wallace in 1972.