Questions remain about how would-be political assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks managed to get within 30 feet of Donald Trump as he spoke, take aim with a rifle and fire at least eight shots.
Crooks, 20, was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper moments after opening fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. The presumptive Republican nominee was wounded in the ear, while his supporter Corey Comperatore was tragically killed.
New videos appear to corroborate witness statements that rally attendees alerted police to Crooks’ presence on the roof before Trump took the stage.
Officials said Crooks climbed onto the roof of American Glass Research using a ladder. After witnesses alerted police when they saw Crooks, an officer was hoisted to the roof by another officer.
Once there, Crooks pointed his gun at the officer, forcing him to take cover. Moments later, shots rang out, terrifying the crowd.
Trump was reportedly in “high spirits” on Sunday when he told the Washington Examiner that he has rewritten the speech he will deliver this week at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden spoke for about five minutes from the Oval Office, signaling that the Republican National Convention was kicking off Monday in Milwaukee, as he himself traveled around the country campaigning for re-election.
He said emotions would run high on both sides and that the stakes of the election were enormous.
But the president added that it’s “time to slow down a little bit,” noting not only the attack on Trump over the weekend but also the potential for violence on multiple fronts in an election year.
Despite calls for calm, too many questions remain.
How did Thomas Crooks get on the roof?
Police personnel stand above the body of the shooter on the roof
This 2021 photo provided by Bethel Park School District shows would-be hitman Thomas Matthew Crooks graduating from Bethel Park High School with the class of 2022
Officials have confirmed that Crooks used a ladder to climb onto the roof of the American Glass Research building in Butler, on Evans Road.
It is unclear how long he was in the area. Trump took the stage at 6:03 p.m., and attendees began entering the event grounds around 1 p.m.
The crowd had to pass through metal detectors before being allowed in. CNN reports that Crooks was acting suspiciously near security. It is unclear when that was reported.
A message was sent to the Secret Service about Crooks, warning them to keep an eye on him.
According to the Associated Press, Trump supporters alerted local police patrolling the area about Crooks’ presence at 6:10 p.m.
Why wasn’t it secured?
The roof of the building where Thomas Crooks was sitting is seen here. It was to the right of where Donald Trump was looking when he was shot.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the agency worked with local police to secure the area and that securing the perimeter was the responsibility of the Butler Township Police Department and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.
Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldlinger somewhat disputed this when he NBC News.
“They had meetings the week before. The Secret Service was the boss. They were the ones who assigned who did what. In the hierarchy of command, they were the top, they were No. 1,” he said.
“To me, it’s all under the jurisdiction of the Secret Service. And they’ll set the boundaries from there.”
The officer who confronted Crooks on the roof was a member of the Butler Township Police Department.
Why did it take so long for snipers to take him out?
A member of the public can be seen talking to a police officer before the shots rang out, the building where Crooks was sitting is on the right
The Secret Service is still investigating the response to the gunfire.
It took “seconds” for the sniper to kill Crooks, a law enforcement source told CBS.
The video shows that there were 43 seconds between the first series of shots and the moment a Secret Service agent said, “The shooter is down.”
Initial reports said Crooks fired eight times into the crowd before being shot dead at 6:11 p.m.
Trump was describing a chart that was shown at the time. ‘And if you really want to see something that sad… look at what happened…’
The next sound heard was a series of pops. There were about six of them.
The next sound is a male voice saying, “Lay down! Lay down! Lay down!” Five Secret Agents then swarm onto the stage and provide cover for Trump. A series of pop-like sounds are heard.
Twelve seconds later we hear the final salvo of shots, less than 30 seconds later a voice can be heard saying, “The shooter is down.”
The weapon used was an AR-15-style rifle with a caliber of 5.56 mm. At least three people present, including Comperatore, were hit. Donald Trump was wounded in the ear.
The others were described as ‘seriously injured’.
Why was the glass building outside the safety zone?
Butler Township snipers provided support to Secret Service snipers monitoring the event
It is not clear why the glass manufacturer’s building remained outside the secured zone.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC news Monday: ‘Such a direct line of sight to the former president should not occur. That is why President Biden has ordered an independent investigation into the incident.’
A former Secret Service agent told NBC News that the building’s presence alone should have been enough to pique the interest of those charged with securing the event.
“Just because it’s outside the perimeter doesn’t mean it’s a vulnerability. You have to mitigate it somehow,” the agent said.
Another former Secret Service agent, Anthony Cangelosi, told NBC that one of two scenarios will likely be revealed. Either there was no plan to deal with a potential sniper on the roof, or it wasn’t carried out.
“I don’t like to make assumptions, but it seems that mistakes were made that could have been avoided,” Cangelosi added.
“There will be a thorough investigation into the incident and a massive realignment,” said Joseph LaSorsa, a former Secret Service agent who served on the presidential detail. “This cannot happen.”
DA Goldlinger told CBS News that local police provided snipers to support the Secret Service, meaning there was extra cover.
The local snipers were positioned to the left of the Secret Service sniper who had taken out Crooks, thus disrupting their line of sight to Crooks.
At most of Trump’s campaign stops, local police assist the Secret Service in securing the site. Agents from other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, such as the Transportation Security Administration, occasionally assist.
Many Trump rallies attract thousands of people, take place outdoors and last for hours.
Before the event, agents scan the site for bombs and other threats, and Trump invariably arrives in an amplified motorcade.
Law enforcement typically sets up perimeter barriers and requires all attendees to pass through a metal detector to enter the venue. Armed security guards search all attendees’ bags and even purses.
Many participants in the demonstration are frisked by hand.
Why didn’t the officers do anything?
After the shooting, Trump issued a statement thanking the Secret Service for their “quick response” and offering his condolences to Comperatore
Video footage taken just before the shooting shows a man talking to a local police officer and pointing to the roof of the building where Crooks was lurking.
Other bystanders can be heard directing the officer to the roof.
A witness said KDKA that the shooting started shortly after he told an officer he had seen Crooks.
“As I turned to go back to where I was, the gunshots started. Then there was chaos and we all ran away, and that was it,” Ben Macer said.
Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe said CBS News that when police heard about Crooks’ sightings, they began “searching” for him.
Slupe said a Butler County Township officer was hoisted to the roof, where he encountered Crooks.
“All I know is the officer had both hands on the roof ready to climb up, but he didn’t because the shooter had turned toward the officer. And rightly and smartly, the officer let go,” Slupe said.
“I would have done the same thing, absolutely. I mean, people think the cops are superhuman, like you standing on the roof with one hand holding on for dear life and pulling out a gun. It doesn’t work like that.”
Paul Eckloff, a former Secret Service agent who retired in 2020, said agents would have inspected all roofs in view beforehand.
“This individual was either hiding until he became a threat, or not a threat until he displayed his weapons,” Eckloff said.
