Former US president Donald Trump vowed to push on to the republican convention where his party will formally make him their presidential nominee after he survived an assassination attempt that further inflames an already bitter US political divide.
US President Joe Biden, a democrat, said he had ordered a review of how a 20-year-old man carrying an AR-15-style rifle managed to get close enough to shoot from a roof top at Mr Trump, who as a former president has lifetime protection by the US Secret Service, a unit of the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Mr Trump, 78, was holding a campaign rally yesterday in Butler, Pennsylvania, one of the states expected to be most competitive in the 5 November election, when shots rang out, hitting his right ear and streaking his face with blood.
His campaign said he was doing well and appeared to have suffered no major injury besides a wound on his upper right ear.
Mr Trump is due to receive his party's formal nomination at the Republican National Convention, which kicks off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said on Fox News that authorities are working together to safeguard the venue, where officials have spent months making security preparations.
"I was going to delay my trip to Wisconsin, and The Republican National Convention, by two days, but have just decided that I cannot allow a 'shooter,' or potential assassin, to force change to scheduling, or anything else. Therefore, I will be leaving for Milwaukee, as scheduled," Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social site.
He said he would be leaving in the afternoon.
The FBI identified Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the suspect in what it called an attempted assassination. He was a registered republican, according to state voter records and had made a $15 donation to a democratic political action committee at the age of 17.
FBI officials said 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.
Both republicans and democrats will be looking for evidence of Mr Crooks' political affiliation as they seek to cast the rival party as representing extremism.
"There is no place in America for this kind of violence," Mr Biden said at the White House. "I urge everyone, everyone please don't make assumptions about his motive or affiliations."
Mr Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden are locked in a close election rematch, according to most opinion polls including those by Reuters/Ipsos.
Mr Trump is due to receive his party's formal nomination at the Republican National Convention (RNC), which kicks off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin tomorrow. RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said on Fox News that authorities are working together to safeguard the venue, where officials have spent months making security preparations.
Read more: As it happened: Reaction as Trump survives assassination attempt
"At this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win," Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social media website.
"I truly love our country, and love you all, and look forward to speaking to our Great Nation this week from Wisconsin."
The Biden campaign had been seeking to reset its message, depicting Mr Trump as a danger to democracy for his continued false claims about election fraud but said on Saturday it was suspending its political advertising for now.
Secret Service agents fatally shot the suspect, the agency said, after he opened fire from the roof of a building about 140 metres from the stage where Mr Trump was speaking. An AR-15-style semi automatic rifle used in the shooting was recovered near his body, according to sources.
The firearm was legally purchased by the suspect's father, ABC and the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. Bomb-making materials were found in the suspect's car, the Associated Press reported, citing sources.
Victim was sheltering family
Authorities identified a rally attendee who was shot and killed as Corey Comperatore, 50, of Sarver, Pennsylvania, who Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro told reporters was killed when he dove on top of his family to protect them from the hail of bullets.
"Corey was an avid supporter of the former president, and was so excited to be there last night with him in the community," Mr Shapiro said, adding, "Political disagreements can never, ever be addressed through violence."
Pennsylvania State Police on Sunday identified two people wounded in the shooting, both of whom were listed in stable condition. They are 57-year-old David Dutch, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania and 74-year-old James Copenhaver, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania.
The Secret Service in a statement denied accusations by some Trump supporters that it had rejected campaign requests for additional security.
"The assertion that a member of the former president's security team requested additional security resources that the US Secret Service or the Department of Homeland Security rebuffed is absolutely false," Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.
"In fact, recently the US Secret Service added protective resources and capabilities to the former president's security detail."
Neighbours stunned
Residents of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, where the alleged shooter lived, expressed shock at the news.
"It's a little crazy to think that somebody that did an assassination attempt is that close, but it just kind of shows the political dynamic that we're in right now with the craziness on each side," said Wes Morgan, 42, who added that he rides bikes with his children on the street where the alleged shooter lived.
"Bethel Park is a pretty blue-collar type of area. And to think that somebody was that close is a little insane."
While mass shootings at schools, nightclubs and other public places are a regular feature of American life, the attack was the first shooting of a US president or major party presidential candidate since the 1981 attempted assassination of Republican President Ronald Reagan.
Political violence
Americans fear rising political violence, recent Reuters/Ipsos polling shows, with two out of three respondents to a May survey saying they worried violence could follow the election.
Mr Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, in an attempt to overturn his election defeat, fueled by his false claims that his loss was the result of widespread fraud.
About 140 police officers were injured in the violence, four riot participants died that day, one police officer who responded died the following day and four responding officers later died by suicide.
The shots appeared to come from outside the area secured by the Secret Service, the agency said.
Hours after the attack, the Oversight Committee in the republican-led US House of Representatives summoned Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify at a hearing scheduled for 22 July.
Leading republicans and democrats quickly condemned the violence, as did foreign leaders.
"There’s no place for this kind of violence in America. We must unite as one nation to condemn it," Mr Biden said in a statement.
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Some of Mr Trump's republican allies said they believed the attack was politically motivated.
Mr Trump began the year facing multiple legal worries, including four separate criminal prosecutions.
He was found guilty in late May of trying to cover up hush money payments to an adult film actor. But the other three prosecutions he faces, including two for his attempts to overturn his defeat , have been ground to a halt by various factors, including a Supreme Court decision this month that found him to be partly immune to prosecution.
Mr Trump contends, without evidence, that all four prosecutions have been orchestrated by Mr Biden to try to prevent him from returning to power.
