The networks scrambled into live mode when shots were fired at the rally for former president Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, which saw Trump sustain a bullet wound to the ear moments after he took the stage. The shots happened at 6:10 p.m., according to published reports.
CBS News said it went live at 6:19 p.m. Adriana Diaz, CBS Weekend News Saturday anchor, anchored the coverage. Correspondent Scott MacFarlane and reporters Olivia Rinaldi and Jake Rosen were on the ground at the rally. MacFarlane said, “That there was some type of explosive noise. The former president had to be tackled and taken offstage by a Secret Service with blood appearing to come from his head. That a crowd of thousands at a presidential rally had to hit the ground. Some of them colliding with each other. Equipment falling on their heads and our heads at one point. No matter what this ends up being, this is a security failure at an event that is secured by the U.S. Secret Service and any number of other law enforcement agencies, where everybody in the space had to be screened and wanted by metal detectors and officers. It’s just calamitous as a failure.”
