Butler (Pennsylvania)/IBNS: Former US President Donald Trump was rushed off stage after a series of gunshots were fired at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania Saturday. 

As gunshots were heard, he was seen clutching a hand to his right ear, where blood was visible across his cheek and mouth.

In his first reaction after the shooting at his rally, the 78-year-old Republican presidential candidate said in a statement he "was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear".

"I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin," Trump, who was not seriously injured, said on his Truth Social site.

He is currently doing "fine" and being checked at a medical facility, said reports.

The former President is "fine and is being checked out at a local medical facility," Trump Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement.

The suspected shooter was confirmed dead, along with one bystander, US media reported.

Secret Service agents were quick to respond and surrounded Trump while escorting him off the stage, as he raised a fist to the crowd in defiance.

Law enforcement agents were investigating what they suspected may have been a genuine attempt on Donald Trump’s life.

A Secret Service spokesperson said on X that “the former president [was] safe” after more than a dozen gunshots erupted.