PA county Republicans, Democrats offer support to Trump

🔵 Shots were fired at Donald Trump as he spoke at a rally

🔵 PA Republicans and Democrats offered support for Trump

🔵 The gunman was identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20 who is dead

County Republican and Democratic committees reacted to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Saturday night during a political rally near Pittsburgh.

Trump was the target of an assassination attempt Saturday at rally in Butler, Pa. days before he was to accept the Republican nomination for a third time. A barrage of gunfire set off panic, and a bloodied Trump, who said he was shot in the ear, was surrounded by Secret Service and hurried to his SUV as he pumped his fist in a show of defiance.

“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place,” he wrote on his social media site.

The FBI early Sunday identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The agency said the investigation remains active and ongoing.

Prayers for the former president

"We are thankful to hear President Trump is doing well! Praying for those who were injured and the family who lost a loved one today," the Bucks County Republican Committee wrote on its Facebook page.

"Our prayers for President Trump and his fantastic Secret Service detail. We hope he fully recovers and law enforcement quickly catches the perpetrator," the Montgomery County Republican Committee wrote on its Facebook page.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-PA, 1st District, in a statement said he was praying for Trump and his family, those at the rally along with the entire country.

"Political violence has no justification or any place in America—against anyone, for any reason, at any time," Fitzgerald wrote. "We will find this person/people and we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law."

"Political violence has no place in our democratic society"

Democrats also offered support for their political nemesis following the assassination attempt.

Bucks County Democratic Committee Chair Steve Santarsiero was thankful Trump is safe and doing well. He offered prayers for anyone who was hurt during the incident.

"We thank the Secret Service and other members of law enforcement at the scene for their bravery and swift action to protect the former president and the members of the public who were attending the event," Santarsiero wrote on the organization's Facebook page. "Political violence has no place in our democratic society and all Americans should be united in condemning this horrible act and in speaking with one voice against the threat of similar actions in the future.”

The Montgomery County Democratic Committee did not offer comment on the incident.

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro was grateful for the response of law enforcement.

"As we wait to learn more from the investigations, I am mindful of just how painful and shocking this event is to so many of our fellow Pennsylvanians. I respectfully ask that we treat our fellow Americans with respect and join together to universally condemn the unacceptable violence we witnessed earlier today in Butler," Shapiro wrote.

Trump flew to Newark Liberty International Airport after being released from a hospital and then traveled to his golf club in Bedminster, NJ.

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