Assassination Attempt on Trump Heightens U.S. Political Tensions

Donald Trump was targeted in an assassination attempt that has intensified political divides in the U.S. The attack occurred during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Both Trump and President Joe Biden called for unity and condemned violence. The suspect, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by Secret Service agents.

Donald Trump arrived on Sunday in Milwaukee, where he will be formally nominated as the Republican presidential candidate later this week after surviving an assassination attempt that has aggravated an already bitter U.S. political divide.

President Joe Biden, a Democrat, ordered a review of how a 20-year-old man with an AR-15-style rifle got close enough to shoot at Trump from a rooftop on Saturday. Trump, as a former president, has lifetime protection by the U.S. Secret Service. Trump, 78, was holding a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania - a key state in the Nov. 5 election - when shots rang out, hitting his right ear and leaving his face streaked with blood. His campaign said he was doing well.

Both Trump and Biden on Sunday sought calm and unity. Trump is due to accept his party's formal nomination at the Republican National Convention with a speech on Thursday. He pumped his fist in the air several times as he descended the stairs from his plane after arriving in Milwaukee.

The FBI identified Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the suspect and said the shooting was being investigated as an attempted assassination. FBI officials said on Sunday that the shooter acted alone. The agency said it had yet to identify an ideology linked to the suspect or any indications of mental health issues or found any threatening language on the suspect's social media accounts.

The shots on Saturday appeared to come from outside the area secured by the Secret Service, the agency said. Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe said Butler Township police officers had responded to a call about a suspicious person, but were unaware he was armed. He said one officer helped hoist another officer up to look on the roof. As the officer pulled himself up he was confronted by the shooter.