The apparent assassination attempt on former US president Donald Trump swiftly became the top trending topic on Chinese social media, drawing comparisons with other political figures killed by gunmen.
Within hours of the shooting at the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the topics “#Trump was shot” and “#Trump says a bullet pierced his right ear” were among the most searched on microblogging service Weibo.
The tone of the comments ranged from neutral to gloating, with various commenters saying the presumptive Republican Party nominee “failed to meet Shinzo Abe”, a reference to the former Japanese prime minister who was assassinated in 2022.
Others drew parallels with the 1963 death of US president John F. Kennedy and marvelled at Trump’s luck.
“A simple turn of his head during the speech saved him, otherwise it could have been fatal,” a commenter said.
The incident prompted some internet users to highlight the wide access to firearms in the United States and the frequent number of gun crimes.
“America is a mess, shootings happen every day. The assassination is a result of the proliferation of guns.”
Others suggested that the shooting was staged and that “after the bullet pierced his ear, he still showed his head and raised his arms to cheer”.
“Trump will make full use of this shooting and further improve his support rate,” another said.
The US Secret Service said in a statement that the suspected shooter “fired multiple shots toward the stage from an elevated position outside the rally” before being “neutralised” by agents, Agence France-Presse reported.
It said Trump was “safe and being evaluated” while confirming the death of a spectator. Two others were critically wounded.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the “subject involved” in the assassination attempt.
Tabloid newspaper The New York Post said initially that the shooter was “identified as a Chinese man” before reporting that the gunman was “identified only as a white male”.
The shooting is being covered closely by various mainstream Chinese media outlets, including state-owned CCTV News.
Photographs and footage of the incident are widely available online.
In an interview with state news agency China News Service, Li Haidong, a professor from the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University, said there appeared to be lapses in the security provided by the US Secret Service.
“During the public speech, no bulletproof glass was installed that could have offered protection,” Li was quoted as saying.
