FBI nnames 20-year-old as subject involved in Trump shooting
The FBI has identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the “subject involved” in the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump, the agency said in a statement on Sunday, according to Reuters and Associated Press.
Former US President Donald Trump was rushed off stage after gunshots erupted at a rally in Pennsylvania in an apparent assassination attempt.
Footage showed him grimace and raise a hand to his right ear, before ducking as several sharp cracks – a series of shots – broke out.
He was quickly swarmed by US Secret Service agents and dragged off stage to a waiting vehicle. He raised a fist as he was bundled into the car.
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 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 the male attacker had been armed with a rifle and had fired from an elevated structure a few hundred metres away outside the venue.
FBI agents – who are leading the investigation – told reporters in Butler that they had “tentatively identified” the dead gunman, but had yet to establish a motive.
