TRUMP MURDER ATTEMPT SHOCKS WORLD

DONALD Trump yesterday credited God with saving him from "the unthinkable" after coming within an inch of death when a gunman tried to assassinate him.

- CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN

The former US president and Republican frontrunner was struck in the right ear by a bullet during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday afternoon.

One attendee, retired fire chief Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed as he shielded his wife and daughter from the gunfire. Two other men were critically injured.

The apparent attacker, shot dead by Secret Service snipers as he tried to flee his rooftop firing position, was identified by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20.

Trump, seen with blood on his face as he was bundled away, later said on his social media platform Truth: "It was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening.

We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our faith and defiant in the face of wickedness. Our love goes out to the other victims and their families. We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen... so horribly killed."

Yesterday, Trump's senior campaign adviser said his life was saved because he turned his head to look at a screen.

Dan Scavino said the slight move of his boss's head meant the bullet only hit his ear.

One witness, named only as Greg, claimed he tried to warn bodyguards about the gunman three or four minutes beforehand.

Greg, who was outside the grounds of the event, said he and his friends frantically tried to draw the attention of authorities when they noticed a person with a rifle crawling on a rooftop.

He claimed that minutes later the gunman managed to fire five times before the Secret Service "blew his head off".