The FBI is investigating the shooting at a rally of US presidential candidate Donald Trump as an assassination attempt and a potential terrorist attack, according to a statement released by the agency.
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“The FBI is investigating the July 13 rally shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, which left one person dead and former President Trump and other spectators injured, as an assassination attempt and a potential act of domestic terrorism,” the statement said.
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The release notes that while the investigation indicates that the shooter acted alone, the search for possible accomplices continues.
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The shooter’s motive has not yet been determined; investigators are studying the contents of his phone.
The shooter’s house and car were searched, and “suspicious devices” were found and sent for examination.
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The rifle used in the shooting was legally purchased.
The shooter was not previously known to the FBI.
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Trump cut short a public appearance in Pennsylvania on Saturday because of the shooting. The video footage shows the politician being taken away by the arm by security, his ear bleeding. Trump later said he was shot in the ear and lost a lot of blood. The US Secret Service said it had killed a suspect who fired several shots towards the stage. One of the spectators, a 50-year-old former firefighter, was killed in the shooting, and two others were critically injured.
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The suspect is 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Pennsylvania, the state where the rally took place. He was reported to be hiding on the roof of a production building about 100 meters from the stage – outside the area where the event was being held.
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The FBI called the incident an attempt on Trump’s life.
