On the afternoon of July 13, the United States Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump was shot during a rally in Pennsylvania. The gunman was killed, one attendee tragically lost their life, and two others were seriously injured. Throughout history, a total of nine U.S. presidents have faced assassination attempts, with four of them tragically losing their lives.
At around 6 p.m. local time on July 13, Trump was giving a speech at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania when the shooting incident occurred unexpectedly. Gunshots rang out one after another, prompting Trump to touch his right ear after the first two shots, then quickly duck behind the lectern. Secret Service personnel rushed to shield Trump on stage and escorted him away from the scene after the gunfire subsided. Blood was visible on Trump’s right ear as he left.
It was reported that the gunman fired from a higher position outside the rally venue and was subsequently shot by Secret Service agents. The shooting incident resulted in one death among the audience and two others being seriously wounded. The Secret Service stated that Trump was “safe” and currently undergoing evaluation. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has officially classified this as an attempted assassination targeting Trump.
Since George Washington became the first U.S. president in 1789, a total of 46 individuals have served as President of the United States. Among these presidents, nine have been involved in shooting incidents, with four of them tragically losing their lives.
Andrew Jackson, the 7th U.S. president, was the first president in American history to survive an assassination attempt. On January 30, 1835, Jackson was attacked by a “mentally ill” painter named Richard Lawrence in the Rotunda Hall of the Capitol while preparing to attend a funeral. Although Lawrence fired two pistols from a distance of less than 6 feet, both shots missed Jackson, who remained unharmed. Lawrence was later diagnosed with mental illness and confined to a mental institution.
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th U.S. president, became the first president to be assassinated. On April 14, 1865, during a theater performance at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., actor John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the head from behind. Booth fled and was later fatally wounded by Federal troops after being discovered hiding in a burning barn in Virginia. Three co-conspirators were executed, and Lincoln passed away the following morning.
James Abram Garfield, the 20th U.S. president, was shot by Charles Guiteau, a disgruntled member of the Republican Party, on July 2, 1881, at a train station in Washington. Garfield succumbed to his injuries on September 19, 1881. Guiteau was executed the following year.
William McKinley, the 25th U.S. president, was shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz on September 6, 1901, at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley passed away eight days after being shot, despite his plea not to harm Czolgosz before being carried away in an ambulance. Czolgosz was electrocuted later that year.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd U.S. president and the only president to be elected for four terms, survived an assassination attempt on February 15, 1933, in Miami. Giuseppe Zangara fired five shots at Roosevelt during a speech, but none of them hit their target.
Harry S. Truman, the 33rd U.S. president, presided over several significant events during his term, including the Allied victory over Nazi Germany, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan’s surrender, and the formal end of World War II.
An attempted assassination occurred against President Truman in Washington, D.C., on November 1, 1950. Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola, members of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, tried to enter Blair House, where Truman was staying, to assassinate him but were foiled. One of the assailants was shot dead on the spot, while Truman remained unharmed.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, commonly known as John F. Kennedy, the 35th U.S. president and a member of the prominent Kennedy family, was the youngest U.S. president to die in office.
Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, when his motorcade was ambushed by a sniper. The identity of the assassin and the details of the assassination remain subject to various interpretations. The arrested assassin was murdered in prison two days later.
It has been alleged that 18 key witnesses to Kennedy’s assassination died in the three years following the event. Between 1963 and 1993, reportedly 115 individuals associated with the case died in mysterious circumstances such as suicide or murder. These events have shrouded Kennedy’s death in conspiracy theories, leaving it a historical enigma.
Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr., the 40th Vice President and 38th President of the United States, survived two assassination attempts in September 1975.
On September 5, 1975, in Sacramento, California, a follower of notorious cult leader Charles Manson pointed a .45-caliber handgun at Ford and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire. The assailant was apprehended and later sentenced to life in prison for attempting to assassinate the president.
Seventeen days later, another female assassin attempted to shoot Ford in San Francisco, but a bystander deflected her aim, preventing any injuries. The second would-be assassin was also given a life sentence.
Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, survived an assassination attempt on March 30, 1981, just 69 days into his presidency. While leaving a luncheon at the Hilton Hotel in the District of Columbia with labor representatives, Reagan and three others were shot by John Hinckley Jr. using a revolver.
Reagan suffered a gunshot wound to the lung, causing severe internal bleeding, but he made a swift recovery thanks to prompt medical attention. The incident didn’t result in any fatalities, but White House press secretary James Brady was left permanently paralyzed after being shot in the head. Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to a mental hospital for treatment.