MOSCOW: Thomas Matthew Crooks, the suspected gunman who tried to assassinate former US president Donald Trump during a campaign event, was a registered Republican, reported Sputnik, citing The Washington Post on Sunday.

The FBI is now trying to determine the shooter’s motive and has asked the public to share anything they know about him, the newspaper reported.

Earlier in the day, the FBI identified Crooks as the “subject involved in the assassination attempt” on the former US leader.

On Saturday evening, a man shot Trump in his right ear during a campaign event in Pennsylvania. The shooter also killed an audience member and critically injured two others in the crowd before the US Secret Service neutralised him. The FBI is investigating the incident as an assassination attempt on Trump. - Bernama, Sputnik