The man who photographed a bloodied and defiant Trump says he 'knew it was a moment in American history that had to be documented'

• Evan Vucci is an AP photographer who documented the aftermath of an assassination attempt on Trump.
• Vucci said he understood the moment's significance immediately after shots rang out.

The Associated Press photographer who snapped a now widely reshared image of former President Donald Trump's fist pump described how he covered Saturday's shooting from various angles in the heat of the moment.

Evan Vucci, who has covered Trump for years, said he understood the incident's significance after hearing "several pops" over his left shoulder.

"I knew immediately it was gunfire," Vucci said in a video posted on the AP's website. "So I looked at the stage and I saw the Secret Service agents rushing to President Trump."

Vucci said he then ran to the rally stage and snapped several photos of agents piling on top of Trump and the Secret Service's counter-assault team arriving.

That was when he took his now-famous photo of Trump, blood streaked across his face, pumping his fist in the air as Secret Service agents ushered the former president off-stage.

"In my mind, it all happened really fast," Vucci said. "At the moment I heard the shots being fired I knew that this was a moment of American history that had to be documented."

Vucci's photo of Trump has become a social-media rallying cry among Republicans and MAGA figures, who say it is a symbol of the former president's strength and defiance.

Trump was speaking at a rally on Saturday when he was interrupted by gunshots. His right ear was bleeding.

In a statement released after he was escorted away, the former president said a bullet had struck his ear and was "fine."

The FBI has classified the incident as an assassination attempt and identified the shooting suspect as a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.

Authorities said the suspect was shot dead. A spectator in the crowd was killed during the assassination attempt, and two others were critically injured.