How could a gunman approach presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday and kill him at a rally in Pennsylvania?
That may be the most important question two days after an assassination attempt that shook the world and upended the 2024 presidential race.
Some experts described the incident as an epic security failure, questioning how a gunman could have climbed onto the roof of a building a football field away from Trump’s stage and opened fire before being shot by Secret Service agents. Videos and eyewitnesses show that some in the crowd noticed the gunman and went to authorities moments before the shooting.
Minister of Internal Security Alejandro Mayorkas: “This type of direct line with the former president should not occur” ABC News said on Monday.
Others also had questions.
“What kind of person could be at that height that observers on Earth apparently saw? How could the Secret Service not have noticed?” asked NBC House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday morning. “There are far more questions this morning than answers,” said Johnson, who called for a full investigation.
President Biden announced an independent review of the summit’s security on Sunday.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said Monday that her agency will cooperate with the investigation and is also trying to determine what happened.
“Secret Service agents on the ground moved quickly during this incident and our counter-sniper team neutralized the shooter and our agents implemented protective measures to ensure the safety of former President Donald Trump,” he said in a statement.
“The Secret Service is working with all relevant federal, state, and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent it from happening again. We understand the importance of the independent review announced yesterday by President Biden and will fully participate. We will also work with the appropriate congressional committees on any oversight actions.”
Cheatle is already facing questions.
Police consultant Roy Taylor, who has decades of experience coordinating security details at political events, said securing high posts around the venue is key to ensuring safety. He questions why the Pennsylvania’s roof is left open.
“Everyone needs to be evacuated from the building or officers need to be deployed,” he told The Times. “We need to make sure it’s safe because it’s obviously easier to fire someone than it is to fire people because it gives you a platform of advantage.”
In an interview, Trump praised the actions of the Secret Service. with the New York Post, They said they came to him as “protectors” and took him to safety.
“The officers hit me so hard that my shoes fell off and they were squeezing me,” she told the newspaper.
As for the gunman, “he was shot between the eyes,” Trump said. “They did a fantastic job… It’s surreal for all of us.”
What do we know about the gunmen’s location?
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, fired an AR rifle from atop a building overlooking the protest site.
It is unclear how long he was on the roof.
Videos show that within minutes, witnesses outside where Trump was speaking in Butler pointed out the unusual ceiling. In videos shared on social media, participants shouted: “He’s got a gun.”
Greg Smith said bbc that he had seen the shooter on a nearby roof before the shots rang out. Smith said he and others tried to alert police or the Secret Service of his presence.
“We pointed the guy out,” Smith said. “He had a rifle. We could clearly see him with a rifle.”
Smith suspects authorities were unable to see the man because of the slope of the roof he was on.
A local police officer spotted Crooks before the shooting began but was unable to confront him, Butler County Sheriff Michael T. Balandra said. CNN saidThe officer was searching the area after receiving calls about a suspicious person outside the perimeter of the demonstration, Slup said. Officers discovered there was someone on the roof and one officer pulled another up to look over the ledge.
The offenders turned around, saw the officer and pointed a gun at him, Slup said. The officer allowed himself to “take cover” and save his life, the sheriff said.
Police sources familiar with the investigation told The Times that the building had been identified as vulnerable. The sources say that in such cases responsibility for security is shared and local authorities often take the lead role. Details of the demonstration plan were unclear.
Shooting
The gunmen fired about 430 feet from the stage where Trump was speaking. With some training and practice, shooting with an AR-style rifle shouldn’t be difficult, said sniper and retired Los Angeles Police Department Special Weapons Squad officer Steve Gordon.
“This type of rifle is standard for police and military, and it is not difficult to shoot with this weapon system,” Gordon said.
Without even seeing the Pennsylvania site, Gordon said it would be “nearly impossible, if not impossible, to cover every window, roof, tree, bush and person.”
“If they had seen him seconds earlier, they could have shot him immediately given the circumstances,” he said. “But from what I have seen so far, I am sure the anti-sniper team has done a great job.”
The Associated Press, which was at the scene, offered this account of what happened next:
When the first pop sounded, Trump said, “Ouch,” putting a hand to his right ear and staring at it, before quickly leaning back in his chair. People sitting behind him also crouched down as screams echoed through the crowd.
Someone could be heard saying over the microphone: “Get down, get down, get down!” so the officers rushed to the scene. They piled on top of the former president to protect him with their bodies while other officers positioned themselves on the scene to look for the threat.
“The shooters are down” was heard several times before someone asked, “Are we moving?” and “Are we clear?” Then someone ordered, “Let’s move.”
In the video, Trump can be heard saying, “Let me get my shoes,” at least twice, and another voice can be heard saying, “I got it, sir.”
Trump stood up moments later and could be seen searching his bloodied face with his right hand. He then raised his fist in the air and appeared to say the word “war” twice, followed by chants of “USA. USA.”
His motorcade left the field moments later. The video shows Trump turning to the crowd and raising his fist before he is led away.
Growing Questions
A big question is whether the Secret Service or local police secured nearby buildings before Trump began his speech. The building where the shooter was located was outside the rally perimeter, but experts said authorities would normally secure it.
“I honestly don’t know how he got to where he was,” Butler County Dist. Attorney Richard Goldinger told CNN. “And I think what we need to understand is how he got there.”
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Washington Post that the agency relies on local law enforcement to help provide security, but it is unclear who is in charge of the building.
Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge in Pittsburgh, said the weapon used was an AR-556 rifle that law enforcement officials believe was legally purchased by Crooks’ father. Authorities said it’s unclear how the teen gained access to the gun.
During a search of the shooter’s vehicle, Rojek said, officers found a “suspicious device” that bomb technicians investigated and determined was safe. Authorities said the shooting was being investigated as an attempted murder and was being treated as a “possible act of domestic terrorism.”
Both Republicans and Democrats have called for a security investigation.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said in a statement: “Those responsible for planning, approving, and implementing this grossly inadequate security plan must testify before Congress and be held accountable.”
