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Doug Mills, a seasoned photojournalist for The New York Times, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography on Monday for his gripping images of the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at a July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

One of Mills’ most powerful photos captured the exact moment a bullet whizzed past Trump’s head — a visual moment that instantly became a defining image of the event.

Historic Moment Captured Through the Lens

“Doug Mills of The New York Times won the breaking news photography prize for his photos capturing the attempted assassination of President Trump last year, including an image in which a bullet can be seen,” reported The Times media correspondent Katie Robertson. She also noted the publication's other Pulitzer wins for stories on Sudan, Afghanistan, and Baltimore.

Source: The New York Times

The Scene at the Rally

During the chaotic incident at the Butler Farm Show grounds, Trump was shot in the ear but quickly stood up, bloodied, and raised his fist while shouting: “Fight, fight, fight.”

The dramatic visuals and video clips of the incident were shared widely across media platforms, but none stood out more than Mills’ image of the bullet mid-flight.

"All I could see was them, and [they're] holding their guns and guns are out everywhere and everybody's yelling, ‘Get down, get down, get down! Active shooter, active shooter!’" Mills recalled.

"I probably did not do the smartest thing by running right at it, but that's what [photojournalists do]."

Mills captured the photos using a Sony a1 camera and was located just below Trump’s stage, shooting with a wide-angle lens when gunfire erupted.

A 40-Year Career 

This Pulitzer is Mills’ second Pulitzer Prize. He first won in 1993 for team coverage of the Clinton/Gore campaign and later received honors for investigative reporting during the Monica Lewinsky affair.

His commitment to covering presidential politics spans four decades, earning him multiple awards.

• Pulitzer Prize (1993, 2024)
• Award for Excellence in Presidential News Coverage (2020, 2023)
• Covered: World Series, Super Bowl, 16 Olympic Games

“Then, when I heard the pops, I guess I kept hitting on the shutter, and then I saw him reach for his [ear]. He grimaced and grabbed his hand and looked. It was blood, and then he went down, and I thought, 'Dear God, he's been shot,'" Mills recounted during an interview with America’s Newsroom.

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Discovering the Bullet Image

The most iconic image — of a bullet frozen in time beside Trump’s head — was discovered after the rally, as Mills reviewed and sent photos to an editor.

“I was like, ‘Oh, hell. I remember taking pictures of him when this happened. Let me go back and look.’ I started looking at it. I started sending them right away, and I called one of the editors and said, ‘Please look at these really closely. This might have been near the moment where he was shot,’” he said.

"She called me back like five minutes later and said, 'You won't believe this.' She goes, ‘We actually see a bullet flying behind his head,’ and I was like, ’Oh my gosh.’"

The image has since become symbolic of the attack — a chilling visual testament to a moment when the presidency narrowly escaped tragedy.

Additional Reading and Sources

• Who is Doug Mills? – Hindustan Times
• Yahoo News: Photographer Wins Pulitzer
• Fox News Interview with Doug Mills