The FBI has named the man suspected of shooting former US President Donald Trump as Thomas Matthew Crooks.
They said in a statement that he was 20 years old and from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
Trump was shot at a rally in Pennsylvania, and Secret Service agents surrounded the former president after a series of shootings. He was quickly whisked off the stage, bundled into a waiting vehicle, and returned home to New Jersey.
The FBI said they were treating the incident as an assassination attempt.
Trump posted on his truth social network that a bullet pierced the “upper part” of his right ear. Earlier, his spokesman said he was receiving treatment at a local medical center.
“I immediately knew something was wrong as I heard whizzes and gunshots and immediately felt bullets ripping my skin,” Trump wrote. “There was a lot of bleeding, so I realized what was going on. “
As protection officers removed Trump, blood was clearly visible on his ears and face.
The FBI statement added that the incident is an “active and ongoing investigation.”
Pennsylvania police said there were no further threats following the shooting.
U.S. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the suspect was shot and killed by U.S. Secret Service officers at the scene. He added that one bystander was killed in the shooting and two others were seriously injured.
Officials later revealed that all three victims were male.
Law enforcement sources told the BBC’s US partner CBS News that Crooks was armed with a rifle and fired from an elevated building several hundred meters away from the venue.
Earlier, agents told reporters in Butler that they had not determined a motive for the assassination attempt.
Special Agent Kevin Rojack confirmed that the agency viewed the shooting as an assassination attempt.
He added that the suspect was not carrying identification and that investigators were using DNA to try to formally identify him.
The Republican presidential candidate had just begun speaking to supporters in Butler, Pennsylvania, a key battleground state in the November election, when the gunfire started.
There were many explosions as Trump spoke about his successor, President Joe Biden, and his administration.
When shots rang out, several supporters standing behind Trump held up placards and took cover.
Bystanders who spoke to the BBC said the gunfire may have come from a single-story building to the right of the stage where Trump was speaking.
One witness, Greg, told the BBC that about five minutes after Trump took office, he spotted a suspicious-looking person “bear crawling” on the roof of the building. He said he pointed out the man to police.
“He had a rifle and we could clearly see him holding the rifle,” he said. “We were pointing at him and the police were running around on the ground – we were like ‘Hey man, there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle’ and the police had no idea what was going on.”
Tim, who also attended the rally, told the BBC he heard a series of gunshots.
“We initially thought it was a fire hose, and then the speaker on the right side started falling,” he said.
“Something must have hit the hydraulic line. [which caused it to fall]. We saw President Trump fall to the ground and everyone started falling to the ground because it was chaos.
Warren and Debbie, who were also at the scene, told the BBC they heard at least four gunshots.
They said they fell to their knees and yelled at attendees to get down as Secret Service agents made their way through the crowd. People stayed calm, they said.
“We just can’t believe this is happening,” Warren said.
Debbie said a little girl next to them cried and said she didn’t want to die and said “How could this happen to us?”
“It breaks my heart,” Debbie said.
Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson told the BBC that his nephew was injured in the shooting. Mr Jackson said in a statement that he suffered a minor injury to his neck and was treated at the scene.
Speaking in his home state of Delaware, President Biden expressed regret for the attack, calling it “disgusting.”
“The United States does not tolerate this kind of violence,” he said. “Everyone must condemn it.”
The White House later said President Biden spoke with Trump before returning to Washington, D.C.
Trump remains locked in a tight race with presumptive Democratic nominee President Joe Biden in a rematch of the 2020 election.
Politicians from both parties joined Biden in condemning the apparent attack.
Former President Barack Obama said that “political violence has absolutely no place in our democracy” and that he was “relieved that former President Trump was not seriously harmed.”
Trump’s former vice president Mike Pence said he and his wife were praying for his former ally, adding that he urged “every American to join us.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement: “My thoughts and prayers are with former President Trump. I thank law enforcement agencies for their decisive response. The United States is a democracy. Any form of political violence is unacceptable. is unacceptable.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer led condemnation of the shooting, saying he was “shocked by the shocking scenes at President Trump’s rally”.
“Political violence of any kind has no place in our society and my heart goes out to all the victims of this attack,” he said in a statement.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called on the public to oppose violence that “challenges democracy”.
Canadian leader Justin Trudeau said he was “sickened by the shooting” of former President Trump.
Trump is scheduled to accept the Republican presidential nomination on Monday at the national convention in Milwaukee. Some speculated he was ready to reveal his running mate at the Butler rally.
Some Republicans were quick to blame President Joe Biden for the shootings, accusing him of fueling concerns about Trump’s potential return to office.
Senator Vance, who is considered a candidate for Trump’s vice presidential nomination, said that the Biden campaign’s comments directly led to the incident.
Republican Congressman Mike Collins accused the president of “inciting the assassination.”
Meanwhile, James Cuomo, chairman of the powerful House Oversight Committee, said he would subpoena the Secret Service director before the committee.
