Eyewitnesses to history: The photographers who captured the Trump assassination attempt on camera

Photographers said they had "chills" when they heard "pops" ringing out at Trump's campaign rally

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Doug Mills was inches away from Trump when he captured the photograph of the moving bullet that pierced the former president's ear.

Mills said he had "chills" when he heard "pops" and saw Trump grab his ear before being ushered to the ground.

"When he (Trump) gestured to his right and I heard the pops, I don't have a gun so I don't know what an AR-15 sounds like, at first I thought it was some sort of machinery," he told CNN.

"Then when I saw he grabbed his ear and he kind of winced, then immediately went down - I said 'Oh my God he's been shot', I get chills saying it now.

"Once he went down my first reaction was to run around to the side and try to get a picture of him down on the ground... by that time I got there he was completely covered by the Secret Service agents."

He added he was taking photos as the scene grew increasingly "chaotic," with yelling from Trump's staff and the Secret Service towards photographers.

Associated Press photographer, Evan Vucci, captured Trump's defiant fist bump with blood dripping from his ear and the American flag looming in the background.

Vucci was directly in front of the stage when he heard several "pops" and took photos of Secret Service agents rushing to Trump's aid.

"Then I saw the Secret Service counter-assault team arrive. I ran to the other side of the stage and they picked Trump up and he started fist-bumping to the crowd. I noticed blood coming down his face, agents put him into an SUV and he started pumping his fist again," Vucci said.

"The moment I heard the shots being fired, I knew that this was a moment in American history that had to be documented."

Washington Post photographer Jabin Botsford also captured the unfolding chaos picturing and filming using Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, providing high-quality visuals of the moment.

"I heard the first pop, and I was like, ‘Oh, weird. Fireworks,’” he told his newspaper.

“It was super scary. Nobody knew what was going on. The president fell to the ground, and I was going to make a picture of it even though the staff was like, ‘You guys need to get down.’”

Getty Images photographer Anna Moneymaker managed to capture Trump on the floor between the legs of the Secret Service.

Trump told the US outlet The Washington Examiner: "I’m not supposed to be here, I’m supposed to be dead".

The former president was showing off a chart of border-crossing numbers at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday when at least five shots were fired.

Trump was seen holding his ear and got down on the ground. Agents quickly huddled in a shield around him.

When he stood, his face bloodied, he pumped his fist to cheering supporters as he was whisked off stage by Secret Service agents.

Former fire chief Corey Comperatore was shot and killed in the shooting, as he shielded his wife and daughter from bullets. Two further people were injured and are said to be in a stable condition.

The gunman, who was shot dead by the Secret Service, has been identified as 20-year-old nursing home employee Thomas Matthew Crooks from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The former president arrived in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention on Sunday evening and is scheduled to make his first public speech at the event on Thursday.

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