Explained | Donald Trump survives assassination attempt: A history of US Presidents targeted by gunmen

Donald Trump, the former US President vying for another stint in the White House, was shot at in an alleged assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday (Jul13).

The 78-year-old presumptive Republican Party Presidential candidate had multiple shots fired at him by a 20-year-old man, identified by the FBIas Thomas Mathew Crook.

Donald Trump is not the only US President or leader to have been the target of an assassination attempt, but he is one of the lucky few to escape it relatively unscathed. Here's a look at others.

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Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was killed on April 15, 1865, after suffering a bullet wound the previous evening. He was the first US president to be assassinated. The popular leader was shot by John Wilkes Booth, a prominent American actor, who managed to sneak up behind the President as he watched a play at Ford's theatre and shot him in the head.

Lincoln's killer was pursued by Union soldiers for 12 days and died of a gunshot wound on April 26 after refusing to surrender to Federal troops.

James A. Garfield

Garfield was the second president to be assassinated.Six months after taking office, he was shot and killedby Charles Guiteau whilewalking through a train station in Washington on July 2, 1881, to catch a train to New England.

After battling the injury for weeks, he died onSeptember 19, 1881.

William McKinley

William McKinley, the 25th USPresident, was killed aftergiving a speech in Buffalo, New York, on Sept. 6, 1901. While shaking hands with people in a receiving line, he was shot twice in the chest at close range by Leon F. Czolgosz, an unemployed, 28-year-old Detroit resident.

While doctors had expected McKinley to recover, gangrene set in around the bullet wounds and he diedon September 14, 1901, six months after opening his second term.

John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy'sassassination is considered the most notorious political murder of the 20th century. He wasassassinated by a sniper, allegedly Lee Harvey Oswald, onNovember 22, 1963. Hewas riding in a motorcade in Dallaswith first lady, Jacqueline Kennedy when two bullets hit him—one at the base of his neck and one in the head.He was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he died soon after.

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt, like Donald Trump, survived the assassination attempt made on him. On October 14, 1912, a saloon keeper named John Schrank shot Roosevelt while he was campaigning in Milwaukee for the third term in office. While the bullet was aimed directly at Roosevelt's heart, its force was cut by a steel eyeglass case and a copy of a campaign speech the leader had in the breast pocket of his heavy coat. He only suffered a flesh wound.

Schrank, after being arrested, said that he shot at Roosevelt because "any man looking for a third [presidential] term ought to be shot."

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted an assassination attempt on February 15, 1933, when an unemployed bricklayer named Giuseppe Zangara shot at him shouting "Too many people are starving!".

Roosevelt or FDR, as he is popularly known, was the president-elect at the time and had just delivered a speech in Miami’s Bayfront Park from the back seat of his open touring car when Zangara opened fire with six rounds. Five people were hit in the attack.

While Roosevelt escaped injury, the mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak, who was also in attendance, was fatally shot in the stomach.

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman, the 33rd President of the United States, survived an assassination attempt on November 1, 1950, when two Puerto Rican pro-independence militants, Oscar Collazo and Griselio Torresola, launched a shooting attack at his residence, Blair House.

One shooter (Torresola) was killed in retaliatory fire.

Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford survived an attempt on his life on September 5, 1975. In Sacramento, California, Lynette Fromme, a petite 26-year-old red-haired woman, approached Ford as he walked toward the California Capitol and aimed a .45-caliber Colt pistol toward him.

Her assassination attempt was foiled by US Secret Service agent, Larry Buendorf, who grabbed the gun, wrested it from Fromme's hand, and forced her to the ground.

The to-be assassin, as per historical reports, said, "It didn't go off. Can you believe it? It didn't go off."

Fromme, nicknamed "Squeaky," was part of the Charles Manson "family". She later revealed that she had tried to kill Ford to gain the approval of cult leader Mason.

On March 30, 1981, Ronald Reagan was wounded by John Hinckley Jr. in Washington, D.C., as he was returning to his limousine after a speech at the Washington Hilton. He was seriously wounded in the attack. The bullet hit himin the left underarm, breaking a rib, puncturing a lung, and causing serious internal bleeding after ricocheting off the side of the presidential limousine.

Hinckley, as per historical records, attempted to kill Reagan, believing the attack would impress actress Jodie Foster, with whom he had developed an erotomaniac obsession.

(With inputs from agencies)