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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.
The
Republican
candidate
for
president
had
just
started
addressing
his
supporters
in
Butler,
Pennsylvania
–
a
crucial
swing
state
in
November’s
election
–
when
the
shots
started.
Multiple
bangs
rang
out
as
Trump
spoke
about
his
successor,
President
Joe
Biden,
and
his
administration.
Several
supporters
holding
placards
and
standing
behind
Trump
ducked
as
the
shots
were
heard.
Bystanders
who
spoke
to
the
BBC
suggested
the
gunshots
may
have
come
from
a
one-storey
building
to
the
right
of
the
stage
where
Trump
was
speaking.
One
witness
–
Greg
–
told
the
BBC
that
he
had
spotted
a
suspicious-looking
person
“bear
crawling”
on
the
roof
of
the
building
about
five
minutes
after
Trump
took
to
the
stage.
He
said
he
pointed
the
person
out
to
police.
“He
had
a
rifle,
we
could
clearly
see
him
with
a
rifle,”
he
said.
“We’re
pointing
at
him,
the
police
are
down
there
running
around
on
the
ground
–
we’re
like
‘hey
man
there’s
a
guy
on
the
roof
with
a
rifle’
and
the
police
did
not
know
what
was
going
on.”
Tim
–
who
was
also
at
the
rally
–
told
the
BBC
that
he
had
heard
a
“barrage”
of
shots.
“There
was
a
spray
which
we
initially
thought
was
a
fire
hose,
and
then
the
speaker
on
the
right-hand
side
started
coming
down,”
he
said.
“Something
must
have
hit
the
hydraulic
lines
[which
caused
it
to
fall].
We
saw
President
Trump
go
to
the
ground
and
everyone
started
dropping
to
the
ground
because
it
was
chaos.”
Warren
and
Debbie
were
at
the
venue
and
told
the
BBC
they
heard
at
least
four
gunshots.
They
said
they
both
got
on
the
ground
as
Secret
Service
agents
came
through
the
crowd,
shouting
for
the
attendees
to
get
down.
People
remained
calm,
they
said.
“We
couldn’t
believe
it
was
happening,”
Warren
said.
Debbie
said
a
little
girl
beside
them
was
crying
that
she
didn’t
want
to
die
and
saying
“how
is
this
happening
to
us?”
“That
broke
my
heart,”
Debbie
said.
Republican
Congressman
Ronnie
Jackson
told
the
BBC
that
his
nephew
was
injured
in
the
shooting.
He
sustained
a
minor
wound
to
his
neck
and
was
treated
at
the
scene,
Mr
Jackson
said
in
a
statement.
Witness
says
he
saw
gunman
on
roof
Speaking
from
his
home
state
of
Delaware,
President
Biden
deplored
the
attack,
calling
it
“sick”.
“There’s
no
place
in
America
for
this
kind
of
violence,”
he
said.
“Everybody
must
condemn
it.”
The
White
House
later
said
President
Biden
had
spoken
with
Trump
before
returning
to
Washington
DC.
Trump
remains
locked
in
a
tight
contest
with
President
Biden
–
the
presumptive
Democratic
nominee
–
in
a
re-match
of
the
2020
election.
Politicians
of
both
parties
joined
Mr
Biden
in
condemning
the
apparent
attack.
Former
President
Barack
Obama
said
there
“is
absolutely
no
place
for
political
violence
in
our
democracy”
and
that
he
was
“relieved
that
former
President
Trump
wasn’t
seriously
hurt”.
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
am
thankful
for
the
decisive
law
enforcement
response.
America
is
a
democracy.
Political
violence
of
any
kind
is
never
acceptable.”
UK
Prime
Minister
Sir
Keir
Starmer
led
international
condemnation
of
the
shooting,
saying
he
was
“appalled
by
the
shocking
scenes
at
President
Trump’s
rally”.
“Political
violence
in
any
form
has
no
place
in
our
societies
and
my
thoughts
are
with
all
the
victims
of
this
attack,”
he
said
in
a
statement.
Japanese
Prime
Minister
Fumio
Kishida
called
on
people
to
oppose
violence
that
“challenges
democracy”.
And
Canadian
leader
Justin
Trudeau
said
he
was
“sickened
by
the
shooting
at
former
President
Trump”.
Trump
was
set
to
accept
his
party’s
nomination
for
president
at
the
convention
in
Milwaukee
on
Monday.
Some
had
speculated
that
he
had
been
set
to
reveal
his
running
mate
at
the
Butler
rally.
Some
Republicans
were
quick
to
blame
President
Biden
over
the
shooting,
accusing
him
of
stoking
fears
about
Trump’s
potential
return
to
office.
Senator
JD
Vance,
who
is
thought
to
be
on
the
shortlist
to
become
Trump’s
vice-presidential
candidate,
said
the
rhetoric
from
the
Biden
campaign
had
led
directly
to
this
incident.
Mike
Collins
–
a
Republican
congressman
–
accused
the
president
of
“inciting
an
assassination”.
Meanwhile
James
Comer,
the
chair
of
the
powerful
House
oversight
committee,
said
he
would
summon
the
director
of
the
Secret
Service
before
his
panel.
Source:
BBC