Former President Donald Trump joins a growing list of presidential candidates who have fallen victim to assassination attempts.
Live Updates:Donald Trump flees rally after suspected assassination attempt leaves one dead, two seriously injured
Details of the incident are still being confirmed, but the 78-year-old Republican front-runner posted on his Truth Social account that he was hit in the right ear while speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. The US Secret Service killed the assailant, and it has been confirmed that one bystander was killed and several others were seriously injured.
Let’s look back at the history of assassination attempts on American presidents and candidates.
March 30, 1981: President Ronald Reagan
The most recent attack on a presidential candidate was when Republican President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr. after a speech just two months after taking office. President Reagan, who was 70 years old at the time, was seriously injured and released after undergoing emergency surgery and spending about two weeks in the hospital. He suffered a punctured lung, broken ribs, and internal bleeding.
June 5, 1968: Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy, the Democratic Senator from New York and brother of President John F. Kennedy, was shot and killed by a Palestinian activist while campaigning in California for the presidential election because of his support for Israel during the Israeli-Arab conflict. Kennedy was shot twice, once in the neck and once in the armpit, and died just one day after the incident. He was 42 years old.
November 22, 1963: President John F. Kennedy
President John F. Kennedy was taking part in a motorcade through downtown Dallas with first lady Jackie Kennedy when Lee Harvey Oswald shot him in the neck and head. Oswald, 46, had not yet announced his reelection campaign and was riding with then-Democratic Governor of Texas, John Connally, who also shot him.
Kennedy was pronounced dead shortly after the shooting, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was inaugurated as the 36th President of the United States.
October 14, 1912: President Theodore Roosevelt
Former Democratic President Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest at a campaign rally in Milwaukee during his second presidential campaign. Roosevelt famously agreed to undergo medical treatment after delivering a planned speech to a crowd outside the Gilpatrick Hotel.
Roosevelt first became president when President William McKinley was assassinated.
September 6, 1901: President William McKinley
Republican President William McKinley was shot and killed in Buffalo, New York, during his second term in office. McKinley was attending the Pan-American Exposition when an anarchist shot him twice in the abdomen as he reached out to shake hands. McKinley died a week later at age 58.
July 2, 1881: President James A. Garfield
While waiting for a train in Washington, DC, Republican President James A. Garfield was shot in the back and shoulder by a supporter of Vice President Chester A. Arthur.
Garfield died from his injuries more than two months later, and Arthur became the 21st President of the United States.
April 14, 1865: President Abraham Lincoln
President Abraham Lincoln was the first high-ranking official to be assassinated.
Towards the end of the Civil War, while attending a play with his wife at Ford Theatre in Washington, DC, Lincoln was shot in the back by famous Confederate actor John Wilkes Booth.
June 27, 1884: Mayor Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith, founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a reformed candidate, was shot to death in prison along with his brother by a mob for their Mormon beliefs. Smith was mayor of Nauvoo, Illinois, and was arrested on charges of inciting a riot after ordering the destruction of newspapers critical of him and his church. A mob closed in on Smith and his brother, and they were shot to death in prison while awaiting trial.
January 30, 1835: President Andrew Jackson
A house painter attempted to shoot President Andrew Jackson, missed two shots, was arrested, and found not guilty by reason of insanity.
