Today's Edition
WASHINGTON, ROME, PARIS, BRUSSELS (AFP, DPA)
World leaders reacted with shock on Sunday after the attempted assassination of former US president Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
Trump was speaking at a rally north of Pittsburgh when several shots were fired. The Republican Party candidate, who is running in November's presidential election against incumbent President Joe Biden, was hit in the ear and escorted off stage by Secret Service agents.
A rally attendee was killed and two were critically injured in the incident, the US Secret Service said, while the suspected shooter was also killed.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wished Donald Trump a speedy recovery, writing on the social media platform X that "such acts of violence threaten democracy."
He added: "The attack on US presidential candidate Donald Trump is despicable. I wish him a speedy recovery. My thoughts are also with all of those who were affected by the attack."
French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday wished Donald Trump a "speedy recovery", calling the assassination attempt on the former US president "a tragedy".
"This is a tragedy for our democracies. France shares the shock and indignation of the American people," Macron said on social media platform X.
Additionally, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday she was "deeply shocked" by the shooting at rally by Donald Trump in which the former US president was wounded and a bystander killed.
"I am deeply shocked by the shooting that took place during former President Trump's campaign rally," the European Commission president said on X, formerly Twitter. "I wish Donald Trump a speedy recovery and offer my condolences to the family of the innocent victim. Political violence has no place in a democracy," she said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed "solidarity" with Donald Trump on Sunday and called for "dialogue" against violence, following an assassination attempt against the former US president.
"I express my solidarity and wishes for a speedy recovery, with the hope that the coming months of electoral campaigning see dialogue and responsibility take the upper hand against hatred and violence," she said in a statement.
