Chronicle Editor
Source BBC Breaking News
Donald Trump ducks as shots are heard during his Pennsylvania rally
The man suspected of shooting at former US President Donald Trump has been named by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks.
He was 20 years old and from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, they said in a statement.
Trump was shot at during a rally in Pennsylvania, with Secret Service agents swarming the former president after a series of gunshots. He was quickly bundled off stage and into a waiting vehicle and has since returned home to New Jersey. The FBI say they are treating the incident as an assassination attempt.
In a post to his Truth Social network, Trump said a bullet pierced the “upper part” of his right ear. Earlier, his spokesperson said he was receiving treatment at a local medical centre.
“I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin,” Trump wrote. “Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.”
Blood was clearly visible on Trump’s ear and face as protection officers rushed him away.
The FBI statement added that the incident is an “active and ongoing investigation”.
Pennsylvania police say there are no further threats following the shooting.
The suspect was shot dead at the scene by US Secret Service officers, the agency’s spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said. He added that one bystander was killed in the shooting and two others were critically injured.
Officials later revealed that all three victims were male.
Law enforcement sources told the BBC’s US partner CBS News that Crooks had been armed with a rifle and had fired from an elevated structure a few hundred metres away outside the venue. Earlier, agents told reporters in Butler they had yet to establish a motive for the assassination attempt.
Special Agent Kevin Rojek confirmed the agency was treating the shooting as an assassination attempt.
He added that the suspect had not been carrying ID and that investigators were using DNA in an attempt to formally identify him.
Source BBC Breaking News
Online Reporter