Payam Javan: FBI officials have confirmed that the suspect in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump acted alone. The FBI is treating the incident as both an attempted assassination and an act of domestic terrorism. This development came less than 24 hours after the attack at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, marking the first major assassination attempt on a U.S. president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan in 1981.

The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, fired several shots from an elevated position near the rally venue. While Trump narrowly escaped serious injury, a bullet pierced his right ear, and a 50-year-old firefighter named Corey Comperatore was killed. Two other rally attendees, David Dutch and James Copenhaver, were injured but are currently in stable condition. A GoFundMe campaign set up by the Trump campaign has raised over $3 million for the victims and their families.

The FBI has yet to determine a motive, but officials stated that Crooks’ family is cooperating with the investigation. Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray condemned the attack, with Wray promising a thorough investigation. A suspicious device found in Crooks’ car was defused by bomb technicians. President Joe Biden called for an independent review of rally security, emphasizing the attack’s threat to democracy. Meanwhile, Trump continued his schedule, attending the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, while the Secret Service assured that security measures were fully enforced.