Photographer captures iconic image of bullet whizzing past Trump at Pennsylvania rally

Photographer behind photo of bullet whizzing past Trump speaks out

[Image credit] Doug Mills, New York Times

I have heard the sound many times. My brother and friends would shoot
to see how close they could get and a .22 calibre gun can still kill.

The sound of the bullets flying by or hitting something can be heard.

I have been around guns my whole life and you are taught to use them properly as well as be safe. My father was a hunter and very good at teaching us the whys and what fors. Not for show, my father's guns
were locked up and not toys.

~ Curtis Bennett
July 18, 2024

Doug Mills joins 'America's Newsroom' after witnessing Trump assassination attempt up close

By Taylor Penley

Fox News

Published July 15, 2024 12:48 pm EDT | Updated July 16, 2024 11:27 am EDT

(4:37)

Photographer behind photo of bullet whizzing past Trump speaks out

New York Times photographer Doug Mills joins 'America's Newsroom' to share his firsthand account of the scene at the rally after capturing photos of the bullet that grazed former President Trump's ear.

New York Times photographer Doug Mills stunned Americans with the iconic image he captured of a bullet whizzing past former President Trump after grazing his ear at a Pennsylvania rally over the weekend.

The moment remains a focal point as the Republican National Convention kicks off Monday, where Mills sat down with Fox News to share his firsthand account of the shocking ordeal.

"I just happened to be down, shooting with a wide angle lens just below the president when he was speaking. There was a huge flag waving right above his head, and I just happened to be taking pictures at the same time," he told "America's Newsroom" in Milwaukee.

RALLYGOERS DOUBLE DOWN ON TRUMP SUPPORT AFTER WITNESSING HARROWING ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: ‘WE FIGHT HARDER’

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa.
(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

"Then, when I heard the pops, I guess I kept hitting on the shutter, and then I saw him reach for his [ear]. He grimaced and grabbed his hand and looked. It was blood, and then he went down, and I thought, 'Dear God, he's been shot,'" he continued.

Mills, like many others present, failed to initially realize the sounds were gunshots.

He recalled watching as Secret Service swarmed the former president in a few "split seconds," obstructing his view of Trump.

bullet streaking past the former president. (Doug Mills/New York Times )

This image captured by Doug Mills, a New York Times photographer, seems to show a bullet streaking past the former president. (Doug Mills/New York Times)

"All I could see was them, and [they're] holding their guns and guns are out everywhere and everybody's yelling, ‘Get down, get down, get down! Active shooter, active shooter!’" he recalled.

"I probably did not do the smartest thing by running right at it, but that's what [photojournalists do.]."

SPLIT-SECOND TURN COULD HAVE SAVED TRUMP'S LIFE, EXPERTS SAYS: ‘GOD MUST HAVE BEEN WATCHING DOWN ON’ HIM

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Mills said the moment he discovered he had captured an image of the bullet whizzing past Trump was a "surprise" to him.

It happened after he was ushered into a tent and began sending photos of the former president's now widely-circulating defiant fist pump to an editor.

"I was like, ‘Oh, hell. I remember taking pictures of him when this happened. Let me go back and look.’ I started looking at it. I started sending them right away, and I called one of the editors and said, ‘Please look at these really closely. This might have been near the moment where he was shot,’" he said.

"She called me back like five minutes later and said, 'You won't believe this.' She goes, ‘We actually see a bullet flying behind his head, and I was like, ’Oh my gosh.'"

Mills said he captured the rally images with a Sony a1 camera.

[Source] Photographer captures iconic image of bullet whizzing past Trump at Pennsylvania rally

'I have heard the sound many times. My brother & friends would shoot to see how close they could get & a .22 calibre gun can still kill....
...sound of bullets...
Not for show, my father's guns were locked up and not toys.'
~ Curtis Bennett, July 18, 2024 https://t.co/DwpNgSVw02
— Dianne Knight (@DianneKnight) July 23, 2024

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