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The
FBI
has
named
20-year-old
Thomas
Matthew
Crooks
of
Bethel
Park,
Pa.,
as
the
suspect
in
the
assassination
attempt
on
former
president
Donald
Trump.
The
attack
at
the
Butler,
Pa.,
rally
left
one
spectator
dead
and
critically
injured
two
others.
In
a
post
on
Truth
Social,
Trump
said
he
was
“shot
with
a
bullet
that
pierced
the
upper
part
of
my
right
ear.”
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.