These are the seconds after the shooting of the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (78) at a performance in Butler (US state of Pennsylvania). Several agents frantically try to get the bleeding ex-president to safety. With lightning-fast commands they work through the security protocol, waiting for their chance to disappear from the stage.
The shots and the subsequent screams, exclamations and instructions from the agents can be heard over the microphones. CNN documented the exact wording second by second. The sequence of events is shown here with the exact times of day according to local time.
18.11:33: While Trump is speaking, shots are fired.
18.11:34: Trump turns his head to the side and puts one hand to his right ear.
18.11:35: With presence of mind, Trump takes cover. In the picture, agents can be seen storming the podium and climbing the stairs. A male agent orders: “On the floor, on the floor, on the floor!”
18.11:41: An agent calls out: “What are we doing, what are we doing? Where are we going?”
18.11:50: Another shot is fired and a woman screams.
18.11:58: The second male agent calls out, “We’re going to the backup vehicle, we’re going to the backup vehicle.” By this he means a waiting, empty limousine.
18.12:00 hrs: A third male agent says, “Go to the backup vehicle when you are ready.”
18.12:01 hrs: Agent 2 calls out: “Ready!”
18.12:02: His colleague, Agent 3, orders: “Move!”
18.12:03: Agent 2 shouts: “Get up!”
18.12:03: His colleague orders: “Forward!”
18.12:04: A fourth agent shouts: “Go, go, go!”
18.12:06: The second agent calls out: “Hawkeye is here!”
18.12:06: The agent confirms: “Hawkeye is here, we are going to the backup car!”
“Hawkeye” is the code for the counterterrorism unit.
Trump assassination attempt in video“Down! Down! Down!”
18:12:09: The fourth male agent instructs the driver of the backup car: “Get ready, get ready!”
18.12:10: The second agent asks: “Are you ready?”
18.12:16 to 18.12:21: The agents report: “Shooter is down, shooter is down. Can we go?”
18.12:21 hrs: One of the male agents shouts: “The shooter is out. We are ready.”
18.12:22: The female agent asks: “Are we ready?”
18.12:23: The agents assure: “We are safe, we are safe, we are safe.”
18.12:23: “Let us go, let us go!”
The agents who protected Trump on the ground for several seconds now stand up and help Trump to his feet.
18.12:33: Now Trump speaks, says: “Let me get my shoes, let me get my shoes.”
18.12:35: The second agent acts, telling Trump: “I got you, sir, I got you, sir.”
18.12:36: Trump insists: “Let me put my shoes on.”
18.12:37: Another male agent: remarks: “Wait, your head is bleeding!”
6:12:39 p.m.: The second agent says, “Sir, we have to go to the car, sir.”
18.12:42: Trump says again: “Let me get my shoes.”
18.12:43: The agent replies: “Okay.”
18.12:47: Trump wants to send his fans another message, turns back to the audience, protected by the agents, and says: “Wait, wait, wait.” He raises his clenched fist in the air and shouts: “Fight, fight, fight!” Cheers erupt, the audience chants: “USA, USA, USA!”
18.12:54: One of the agents says, “We have to go, we have to go.”
A short time later, Trump is safe.