BETHEL PARK: The motive behind a 20-year-old gunman’s attempt on the life of Donald Trump remained a mystery two days later with the suspect having been shot dead and the FBI unable to identify an ideology that may have driven him to attack the former president.

The FBI has taken the lead in an investigation of the shooting at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania that wounded the former president, overshadowing his Nov 5 election rematch with President Joe Biden

The Secret Service, responsible for protecting presidents and former presidents, went on the defensive today against criticism of its failure to detect the gunman whose shots wounded Trump in his right ear and killed a spectator.

Secret Service personnel on the ground moved quickly during the incident, with our counter sniper team neutralizing the shooter and our agents implementing protective measures to ensure the safety of former president Donald Trump, Kimberly Cheatle, the Secret Service director, said in a statement.

Biden ordered an independent review of how the gunman, who was shot dead by agents moments after opening fire, could have come so close to killing or severely wounding Trump despite the heavy security provided by the Secret Service at Saturday’s event in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The early details about the investigation into the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, a nursing home aide, were sketchy.