Evan Vucci, an Associated Press (AP) photojournalist who captured striking images of the aftermath of Saturday’s assassination attempt on former President Trump reflected on the harrowing event in a video released by the outlet.
Amidst the chaos of the shooting at Trump’s campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist captured a series of photographs of a bloodied Trump, surrounded by agents of the United States Secret Service, raising his fist to rally the shaken crowd.
Pulitzer-prize winning photographer @evanvucci running across the podium — amidst gunfire and screams — to get the iconic photo everyone is sharing pic.twitter.com/DzJ86TX5lL
— Ronen▼ (@RonenV) July 14, 2024
This is Evan Vucci, the AP photographer who apparently ran to the assassin’s target to take the Iwo Jima-level photo of Trump pumping his fist: pic.twitter.com/OHJuyiYBwv
— Steve Sailer (@Steve_Sailer) July 14, 2024
Vucci later recounted the dramatic moments he experienced during the assasination attempt.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump raises his fist as he is rushed off stage after an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa. @apnews pic.twitter.com/VoAYqRC4QV
— Evan Vucci (@evanvucci) July 14, 2024
“I was right in front of the stage, directly in front of stage. It was a normal rally — you know, I’ve done it hundreds of times— and, over my left shoulder, I heard several pops, and I knew immediately it was gunfire,” Vucci told the AP. (RELATED: HOUSMAN: Of Course Trump Got Shot — It Just Took One Nutjob Taking Democrats Seriously)
“So I looked at the stage, and I saw the Secret Service agents rushing to President Trump. From that moment, I ran to the stage and started photographing the agents on top of him. And then, off to my right, I saw the Secret Service Counter Assault Team arrive, and then I ran to the other side of the stage and they picked President Trump up.”
The attack left the former president with a visible wound as described by Vucci.
“And then, as he’s walking down the ramp, he starts fist-pumping to the crowd, waving. And I did notice he had blood coming down his face, as you can see in the photos. The agents took him down the ramp, and they put him into an SUV. And, again, as he was getting into the SUV, he also started pumping his fist again,” Vucci continued.
BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA – JULY 13: Secret Service tend to republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump onstage at a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Butler County district attorney Richard Goldinger said the shooter is dead after injuring former U.S. President Donald Trump, killing one audience member and injuring another in the shooting. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“In my mind it all happened very fast. At the moment I heard the shots being fired I knew that this was a moment in American history that had to be documented,” Vucci said, reflecting on the role of journalists in such critical times. “It’s our job as journalists to do this work.”
The Daily Caller reached out to Vucci for comment.