THE Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has identified the suspected shooter in the attempted assassination of the former president of the United States (US) and candidate in the forthcoming elections, Donald Trump.
According to a report by BBC, the FBI identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
He was killed at the scene by a Secret Service sniper, after firing several shots using an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle during a campaign rally.
A bullet pierced the upper part of Trump’s ear, while a bystander was killed. Two other persons were left critically injured in the process.
Although investigators are yet to identify the motive behind the shooting, dozens of law enforcement vehicles have been posted to the home of the deceased suspect.
Trump was quickly led off the stage by law enforcement officials, following the shooting on Saturday, July 13.
In a video that has since gone viral online, Trump was seen with blood on his right ear and parts of his face as he was being led out of the scene.
“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 realised then what was happening,” he later posted via social media.
World leaders have condemned the attack, including current US president and Trump’s major opponent Joe Biden, who described it as ‘sick’.
“There’s no place in America for this kind of violence. It’s sick. It’s sick. It’s one of the reasons why we have to unite this country. We cannot be like this, we cannot condone this,” Biden told journalists.
He urged everyone to condemn the attack and political violence in the country.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.