- Evan Vucci is an Associated Press photographer who documented the aftermath of the assassination attempt on President Trump.
- Vucci said he realized the significance of the moment as soon as the shots rang out.
- He took several photos of the attempt, including the now-famous photo of a defiant Trump with his fist raised.
An Associated Press photographer who captured the now-widely reshared photo of former President Donald Trump pumping his fist in the air described how he captured images of Saturday’s shooting from multiple angles amid the excitement of the moment.
Evan Bucci, a longtime Trump reporter, said he realized the significance of the incident after hearing several “pops” over his left shoulder.
“I immediately realized it was gunfire,” Bucci said in a video posted to the Associated Press website, “and then I looked over at the stage and I saw Secret Service agents running up to President Trump.”
Vucci said he then ran onto the rally’s stage and took several photos of agents swarming over Trump and the arrival of a Secret Service counter-assault team.
That was when Secret Service agents took the now-famous photo of Trump with blood running down his face and his fist pumped in the air as they escorted the former president off the stage.
“In my mind, it all happened so quickly,” Vucci said. “As soon as I heard the shots, I knew this was a moment in American history that had to be documented.”
Vucci’s photo of Trump has become a social media slogan among Republicans and MAGA activists, who say it symbolizes the former president’s strength and defiance.
Trump was interrupted by gunfire while speaking at a rally on Saturday, and blood was streaming from his right ear.
In a statement after his arrest, the former president said he was “fine” after being shot in the ear.
The FBI classified the incident as an assassination attempt and identified the suspected shooter as a 20-year-old man from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
Authorities said the suspect was shot dead, and one spectator was killed and two others seriously injured in the assassination attempt.
