Trump rally shooting: 3 security gaps helped attacker Thomas Matthew Crooks

As more details emerge about Saturday's failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, the Secret Service is facing serious questions about security lapses at the event

A local police officer had spotted Thomas Matthew Crooks before he began shooting at former United States (US) President Donald Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday evening (local time), but could not engage him, the Butler County's sheriff told CNN.

According to the report, the officer was searching the area after local authorities received calls about a suspicious person outside the rally perimeter. After the local officers eventually discovered that Crooks was on a building rooftop roughly 150 metres from Trump's position at the podium at the outdoor rally, one of them reportedly hoisted another up to peer over the ledge.

 

According to the CNN report, the shooter turned around and spotted the officer. Crooks pointed his gun at the officer, who took cover to save his own life.

At some point after this, from outside the rally security perimeter, 20-year-old Crooks opened fire with his AR-15-style weapon. According to a separate CNN report, Crooks took aim at Trump and opened fire six minutes into the former President's speech.

Crooks fired multiple shots, including one that injured Trump's ear. Even as Trump ducked to the ground, with US Secret Service agents rushing to the stage and covering him, the sound of two additional bursts of gunfire reportedly rang out across the Butler Farm Show grounds.

Forty-three seconds after Crooks fired the first shot, he was neutralised, according to a Secret Service agent who spoke to CNN. Surrounded by agents, Trump, with his ear and face bloodied, raised his fist in a defiant and iconic pose to his supporters, before being taken off the stage and into his vehicle. However, at least three rally attendees were shot, with one of them being killed.

With more clarity emerging after Saturday's Trump rally shooting, here are the three major security gaps that may have led to the incident, according to US media reports.

Warnings ignored ahead of Trump assassination attempt

A witness told CNN affiliate KDKA that he had informed officers that he had seen a gunman moving "from roof to roof", moments before the assassination attempt on Trump.

Other witnesses told reporters that before the shooting, they had seen a person fitting the description of the alleged shooter, later identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, carrying a rifle outside the security cordon of the rally.

Local police alert to Secret Service didn't raise alarm

To get into the rally, attendees had to pass through magnetometers or walk-through metal detectors.

Citing a senior law enforcement official, CNN reported that Crooks was spotted near these magnetometers by local law enforcement, who thought he was acting suspiciously. The local authorities issued instructions over their radio to keep an eye on Crooks. The same information was also reportedly passed on to the Secret Service as well.

It appears that these suspicions about Crooks, before he scaled the roof of the building from where he opened fire, did not result in the prompt action that was warranted.

Crooks obtained rooftop access just 150 metres from Trump

One of the major security questions that Donald Trump's attempted assassination has thrown up is how a sniper was able to obtain rooftop access just 150 metres from the former President's position at the podium at his outdoor rally.

Crooks reportedly opened fire from the American Glass Research building's roof.

According to a CNN report, Crooks' location was outside the rally's security perimeter, which has raised questions about both the size of the perimeter and efforts to secure the building from where he opened fire.

Citing law enforcement sources, CNN reported that in the wake of the Trump rally shooting, a review will be conducted of whether the Secret Service had adequate assets to protect Trump days ahead of his officially becoming the Republican presidential nominee. The review will also look into whether procedures were followed to carry out a security sweep of the building from where the shooter opened fire.

The rooftop from where Crooks opened fire should have been guarded, Steve Moore, a retired FBI supervisory special agent and a counter sniper, told CNN on Sunday.

According to Moore, allowing that roof to be "unmonitored" and "unguarded" could have been either a flaw in planning or execution.

Retired FBI field agent Bobby Chacon also told CNN that he was surprised that no one was guarding the rooftop, which he described as "the perfect perch" for an attacker or sniper.

What happens next after Trump rally shooting?

It is not yet clear how Crooks obtained rooftop access in relatively close proximity to Trump. Another question is why was that building left outside what is called the "hard" security perimeter. These and other possible security lapses will be reportedly looked into by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Secret Service, and US Congress.

Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the lead agency investigating Trump's attempted assassination.

US President Joe Biden said on Sunday that he has directed Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle "to review all security measures for the Republican National Convention", which will see Republicans gather Monday to Thursday in Milwaukee to officially anoint Trump as their presidential nominee.

Biden also said that he had directed an "independent review of the national security" at Trump's Saturday rally to "assess exactly what happened", adding that the results of that review would be shared with the American people.

Meanwhile, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers are demanding answers from the Secret Service and hearings on Trump's attempted assassination.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has reportedly vowed a "full investigation" into the shooting, including testimony from the Secret Service, DHS, and FBI, while two Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security Committee have also called for a probe.

Speaking to CNN, House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner said that Congress had "oversight scrutiny and responsibility", adding that there was a "failure of the overall broader net" at Trump's Butler rally.

Citing an informed source, CNN reported that House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green on Sunday held a call with Secret Service Director Cheatle, pressing her on explaining what led to Saturday's security failures. Cheatle has reportedly committed to promptly providing the requested documents to the committee.