The FBI has said that it was a bullet that grazed the right ear of former US President Donald Trump during the assassination attempt at his rally in Pennsylvania earlier this month, CNN reported. The first official statement from the federal law enforcement about Trump’s injury comes amid a host of conspiracy theories surrounding the incident.

“What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,” the FBI’s Office of Public Affairs said in a statement.

Previously, FBI director Christopher Wray had said it was unclear whether Trump was hit by a bullet or shrapnel. There was also speculation about whether Trump was indeed struck by a bullet, with social media agog with theories that he was hit by a piece of glass or got injured while falling down.

The FBI director’s remark had angered Trump, who took to social media to hit back. “No, it was, unfortunately, a bullet that hit my ear, and hit it hard. There was no glass, there was no shrapnel… No wonder the once storied FBI has lost the confidence of America!” he said.

Trump’s former White House physician Ronny Jackson also rubbished speculation that the Republican presidential candidate’s injury was due to shrapnel. “There is absolutely no evidence that it was anything other than a bullet,” Jackson said in a statement, Reuters reported.

A gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, opened fire at a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, injuring Trump and killing one person. The shooter was then killed by a Secret Service sniper.

The former US President has made the incident a major part of his White House campaign, narrating several times how he escaped death by just a quarter of an inch. He has repeatedly said that he “took a bullet for democracy”.

Trump said on Friday that he planned to return to Butler to hold another rally.

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