The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed on Sunday that the shooting of former President and current candidate Donald Trump in Pennsylvania last night was an assassination attempt, and identified the shooter who was killed, amid ongoing investigations.
The FBI added that it had no prior information about a threat to Trump’s campaign rally where he was giving a speech.
He stressed the continuation of investigations and inspection of suspicious places, vehicles and sites related to this incident.
The FBI has asked all those who were present at Trump’s rally to report any information they have, saying it needs their support.
shooter identity
The FBI has identified the shooter, but said it was not prepared to release his identity.
He added that his investigation is ongoing to determine the motives behind the assassination attempt that resulted in the death of the perpetrator and one of the attendees, and the serious injury of two others.
However, CNN quoted informed sources as confirming that the perpetrator of the attempted assassination of Trump was a 20-year-old man from Pennsylvania.
The FBI said the shooter at Trump was 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
months of investigation
In turn, Pennsylvania police said that the investigation into the shooting of Trump could take months.
She added that the priority is to determine the motive behind the shooting of the former president, and whether there were other people involved.
Pennsylvania police stressed that the threat to Trump has ended, and there is no reason to believe there is another threat.
Attack details
For its part, the New York Times quoted a Secret Service spokesman as saying that the suspect fired several shots at the platform where Trump was standing from a high position.
“This shows the dangers of extremists having weapons,” a Secret Service spokesman said.
After hearing several shots, Trump was seen putting his hand to his ear while blood was running down his ear and cheek, as the bullet had wounded him in the ear.
Trump then ducked under the podium as Secret Service agents rushed toward him and surrounded him before evacuating him to a nearby vehicle.
The former president turned to the crowd and repeatedly raised his fist, saying he would never surrender.
Security personnel quickly escorted Trump to an SUV as the former president raised his fist again.
The Secret Service said in a statement that the suspect “fired multiple times toward the stage from an elevated position outside the gathering” before being “neutralized” by agents.
Biden calls Trump
After the assassination attempt, President Joe Biden called Trump, their first call after the debate, which did not go well for Biden.
The White House said Biden stressed that “there is no place for this violence in the United States.”
It is noteworthy that the United States witnessed several incidents of political violence. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 in a shooting while he was in one of his motorcades, and his brother Bobby Kennedy was shot dead in 1968. President Ronald Reagan survived an assassination attempt in 1981.
