Vol. 67 No. 245 | MONDAY | JULY 15, 2024 | 24 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL www.freepressjournal.in NATION Suvendu stages dharna, says genuine voters could not vote in West Bengal by-poll EDITIONS: MUMBAI INDORE PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK KONKAN E-paper GAMES Samson, Mukesh sparkle as India crush Zimbabwe in fifth T20I to wrap up five-match series 4-1 Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (Jan to Dec 2023) Cinema Kim-Aishwarya Rai photo breaks internet Edit Mahayuti cements grip, shock for Congress Heavy rain pours misery on State BY THE EAR | Trump shooter is killed after attack at a poll campaign rally Donald ducks bullet FPJ News Service CHICAGO/WASHINGTON Former US president Donald Trump survived an attempt on his life on Saturday when a 20year-old high school graduate, who happens to be a registered Republican voter, opened fire from a roof 130 yards away at a campaign rally in Butler town. Footage showed the gunman had the former president in clear line of sight, despite being outside the rally’s secure perimeter. Later, law enforcement officials also found two explosive devices in the would-be assassin’s car. However, despite the incident coming at the most vol- atile time in American history, Trump vowed to remain “defiant in the face of wickedness.” The 78-year-old former president was speaking at the rally when bullets started whizzing past him, killing a bystander. Video footage showed Trump grabbing his ear, the crowd screaming and then someone yelling “get down!” Trump took the cue and dropped to the ground with Secret Service agents swarming around him. Moments later, showing uncanny presence of mind, with blood streaking down his face, Trump got up, raised his fist in defiance and mouthed the words 'fight, fight, MOTIVE MYSTERY US investigators are still trying to piece together the why and how of the assassination bid. The gunman who shot at Donald Trump is a 20-year-old registered Republican named Matthew Crooks who had donated for Joe Biden’s campaign. Crooks had no criminal history and officials claimed they are still working on identifying a motive behind the shooting. Images of the youngster wearing glasses, braces, and an American flag t-shirt in a yearbook headshot emerged on Sunday morning. Members of the community said Crooks is believed to have lived with his parents. His father told CNN he was still trying to figure out 'what the hell is going on.' fight.' Chaos ensued with people in the rear scampering to the exits and secret service bundling Trump into a vehicle. The shooting happened days before Trump was to accept the Republican Party's nomination for the presidential election in November. Later, in a post on his Truth Social network, Trump thanked the Secret Service 'for their rapid response'. ‘‘I knew immediately that something was wrong when I heard a whizzing sound and felt the bullet ripping through,’’ he said on social media. 4Contd on | nation BEWILDERED AGENTS As Trump was bundled into a nearby vehicle, confused-looking Secret Service agents nervously looked around. One agent seemed to struggle to holster her weapon into her waistband, while another frantically moved around. There was a ‘bewildering lack of action from agents,’’ said an eyewitness. Questions are also being raised about how a would-be assassin was able to crawl onto a rooftop, take a vantage point, armed with a rifle, and fire multiple shots towards the stage - all in an area that was supposed to have been sanitised. In fact, an eyewitness saw the gunman crawling on the roof-shed with a rifle for several minutes before the first shot was fired. Also, it was three seconds after the first shot was fired that Trump is surrounded by Secret Service agents. TILT OF THE HEAD Trump tilted his head just seconds before the shot was fired. It enabled him to dodge the bullet, literally. He grabbed his right ear and brought his hand down to look at it before dropping to his knees behind the podium. Mumbai hits 45% of season’s average already Rucha Kanolkar MUMBAI TRUMP’S INSTINCTS E ven as the Secret Service agents seemed confused and, momentarily, jittery, Trump kept his nerve. He seemed to sense something was wrong and ducked as he heard a whizzing sound and felt something graze his ear. As the crowd began to scream, he told the agents who had by then huddled around him to stop until he can get his shoes. ‘‘Let me get my shoes. Let me get my shoes on,’’ he told the agents, reports New York Times. When he got up, blood was visible on his right ear. He pauses before being rushed off stage and then his instincts as a presidential frontrunner take over. He pumps his fist in the air in an act of defiance and mouths the word fight. Heavy rains lashed Mumbai and Thane starting from Saturday and continued to do so well into the early hours of Sunday, resulting in widespread waterlogging in several low-lying areas. The deluge submerged bridges across rivers, blocked roads and disrupted transport services. Railway services were particularly affected, with waterlogging on the tracks between Karjat and Panvel, causing long-distance trains to be re-routed. The intensity of rain has increased significantly since last week, resulting in frequent disruptions in transport services. 4Contd on | nation IAS probationer’s Audi car is seized FPJ News Service PUNE The Pune police on Sunday confiscated a luxury car used by controversial IAS probationer Pooja Khedkar; she had allegedly installed a red beacon light on it. The Pune Regional Transport Office had on Thursday issued a notice to a city-based private company, which is the registered owner of the Audi car that 34-year-old Khedkar used during her posting here. Shivane village in Haveli taluka was mentioned as the address of the registered user, as per officials. Khedkar recently came under the spotlight after kicking up a controversy surrounding her demands such as a separate cabin and staff during her posting in Pune. She allegedly misused the disability and Other Backward Class (OBC) quota to secure a position in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). 4Contd on | nation THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL market www.freepressjournal.in We are the only English newspaper from Mumbai to have a separate Stock Market Page besides other financial dailies. We sell what we tell Only English newspaper from Mumbai which is audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (January to December 2023) We don’t indulge in Raddi sales.