'Let me get my shoes': Trump explains why he asked for footwear after assassination attempt

Former President Donald Trump explained why he was asking for his shoes while Secret Service agents began escorting him off the the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, moments after a gunman opened fire at his rally.

Video footage captured the moments after the assassination attempt on Saturday, when the shooter, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks , opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle on a rooftop about 400 feet outside the rally. One person was killed and others were injured, including the former president and presumptive GOP nominee for the 2024 election, who said he had a bullet graze his right ear.

As he's being taken away, Trump can be heard asking for his shoes .

"Let me get my shoes,” repeated Trump as Secret Service agents shielded him and tried to walk him off the stage.

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Why did Trump ask for his shoes?

When agents got Trump to the ground, his shoes came off, reports the New York Post .

“The agents hit me so hard that my shoes fell off," Trump told the New York Post. "And my shoes are tight.”

He also applauded the agents for taking down the shooter.

“They did a fantastic job,” he told the outlet. “It’s surreal for all of us.”

What happened at Saturday's Trump Rally?

On Saturday, at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a man opened fire on the president and the crowd of people surrounding him.

A Pennsylvania firefighter and two other local residents were identified as the victims in the shooting that targeted Trump in a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Trump rally shooting victims: What we know about former fire chief Corey Comperatore, two others injured

The shooter, who officials identified as the 20-year-old Crooks , was killed by authorities moments after shots were fired.

Biden discussed the shooting during an Oval Office address and decried the shooting.

"There's no place in America for this kind of violence or any violence, ever, period, no exceptions," said Biden. "We can't allow this violence to be normalized."

Who are the victims?

On Sunday, authorities identified Corey Comperatore , a firefighter from Sarver, Pennsylvania who had two daughters and was an avid Trump supporter, as the victim who was killed.

Two men injured in the shooting – 57-year-old David Dutch of New Kensington, Pennsylvania and 74-year-old James Copenhaver of Moon Township – were still in critical condition at Allegheny General Hospital on Monday morning.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Let me get my shoes': Trump explains why he asked for footwear after assassination attempt