FBI director unsure if bullet hit Trump, says it could've been shrapnel

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director, Christopher Wray has said there were doubts if former United States president Donald Trump was hit by a bullet during the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, earlier this month.

Trump claims he was hit by a bullet that grazed the upper portion of his right ear after he moved his head just in time to avoid getting shot in the head. However, the FBI director has his suspicions.

"With respect to former President Trump, there’s some question about whether it was a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear," Wray said while testifying in front of the House Oversight Committee.

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“As I sit here right now, I don’t know whether that bullet… in addition to causing the grazing, could have landed somewhere else," he added.

Notably, 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Crooks, had fired a volley of eight rounds towards the former US president using an AR-15 rifle while he was addressing the rally in an open field.

Wray said his team had accounted for all the shots in the cartridges, including the ones that killed a rallygoer and wounded two others. Wray highlighted that Crooks' gun had a collapsible stock that made it easy to hide the gun.

Watch |US Secret Service director grilled by lawmakers on Trump assassination attempt

FBI surprised

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the FBI had thrown the US Secret Service under the bus by claiming it was 'surprising' that the shooter was able to fire the rifle.

“It is surprising but, to get all the details of that will come out later in the investigation," said Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office when asked if he was surprised at the number of shots.

"The Secret Service really needs to answer that question,” Rojek stated, adding that the FBI was only there to support the Secret Service who were in charge of securing the scene.

The premier security agency last week confirmed that Crooks had searched for Trump as well as his successor Joe Biden in the lead-up to the events of July 13.

FBI added that Crooks searched for dates of Trump appearances and the Democratic National Convention (DNC) where Democrats were previously expected to certify Biden's nomination for the president before he dropped out of the race.

(With inputs from agencies)