Trump Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks Acted Alone, Says FBI

Pennsylvania: The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, who shot former president Donald Trump during an election campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday appeared to have acted alone, according to the FBI statement.

The agency is still investigating the matter as a potential "domestic terrorism" act. The counterterrorism division and criminal divisions are working together to determine the motive, a senior official said.

Robert Wells, the executive assistant director of the FBI’s National Security Branch in a statement said, "At this point in the investigation, it appears that he was a lone actor, but we still have more investigation to go."

"The shooter may be deceased, but the investigation is very much ongoing. And, because of that, we are limited in what we say at this point," FBI Director Christopher Wray said at a news conference in Washington.

"What we witnessed yesterday was nothing short of an attack on democracy and our democratic process," he added.

As per the FBI official, the 20-year-old shooter didn't pose any mental health issues, threatening posts or other motives, but cautioned it was still early.

The shooter, as per FBI, used an AR-style rifle chambered in 5.56mm, for the attack, a common calibre for such weapons.

On Saturday, presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump was hit by a bullet that pierced his ear as soon as he began his speech.

On Sunday, Donald Trump Will be shortly arriving in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention amid the incident.

The Republican National Convention, which is held every four years, began under an unprecedented security cover in the aftermath of a failed assassination attempt on its presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump.

This comes as United States President Joe Biden in his Oval Office address said, "I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics and to remember, while we may disagree, we are not enemies we are neighbours, friends, coworkers, citizens, and most importantly, we are fellow Americans."

Calling for national unity, Biden said, "We must stand together. Yesterday's shooting at Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania calls on all of us to take a step back, take stock of where we are and how we go forward from here."

"It's time to cool it down.” In a prime-time national address from the Oval Office, Biden said political passions can run high but “we must never descend into violence.” “There is no place in America for this kind of violence — for any violence. Ever. Period. No exception. We can't allow this violence to be normalised," he further said.

(Inputs from AP)