Donald Trump
Local police and shadowy trees - the Secret Service may have missed the Trump shooter
Petter J Larsson
Updated 00.41 | Published 00.31
Local police at important posts - and a shadowy tree.
The Secret Service receives harsh criticism for the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
But three new pieces of information can provide an explanation for how it could have happened.
After the suspected assassination attempt on Donald Trump, sharp criticism has been directed at the Secret Service. Since the assassination of John F. Kennedy, there have been clear rules for how the security service should search and secure all nearby buildings so that no shots could reach the president or anyone else under the protection of the police organization.
But somehow, an armed 20-year-old from Pennsylvania still managed to get onto a roof about 130 meters from the presidential candidate's stage.
Security experts call the incident a fundamental security mistake. Joe Hagin, who was a senior White House official under both Trump and George W Bush, is calling for a comprehensive investigation into how this could happen.
- For all protected objects, from the president on down, we must have a thorough and fair investigation by people who know what they are talking about, Hagin told the Washington Post.
But three new pieces of information that have come to light can provide a better explanation for how the attack could have happened.
Local police in important positions
According to information provided to the Washington Post, the Secret Service was forced to rely to a large extent on local police - even in the specialized units whose mission is to find and disarm a potential attacker.
- How the hell could he get a weapon so close? Asked a former Secret Service officer who spoke to the American newspaper.
He had asked this to former colleagues within the organization and received "resources" in response.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Gugliermi confirmed on Sunday that it has been relying heavily on local police to fill out key parts of its protective units. Among other things, its heavily armed strike group, which provided cover as Trump evacuated and killed the shooter, had been forced to enlist the support of local police.
"The Secret Service always has the lead when it comes to securing something like this," said George Bivens, a director with the Pennsylvania State Police.
- We work with them to provide everything requested by the Secret Service, but they lead the security work.
Police met the shooter - turned around
According to AP sources, one of the local police officers encountered the shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks before he fired at Donald Trump.
Two Pennsylvania police officers, who spoke anonymously to the news agency, said that shortly before shots were fired at the rally, a visitor had noticed a man climbing onto the roof of a nearby building and alerted local police.
An officer then climbed onto the roof and encountered Crooks, who then pointed his weapon at the officer. The police had turned back down from the roof and shortly afterwards Crooks had fired at Trump.
Trees in the way
According to Sky news' security analysis, a large tree may have obscured the Secret Service's view of the building Crooks climbed. Two armed units were on site at the warehouse building behind the stage Trump spoke from. But because of a tree, only the unit farthest from the shooter could see him clearly.
- It is incredibly difficult to keep such an arena open to the public and secure all possible threats against a determined attacker, says George Bivens to Sky news.
"There is no excuse"
Anthony Gugliermi on Sunday denied rumors that the Secret Service had asked in vain for more resources.
"There is an untrue allegation that a member of the former president's team requested additional security resources and was denied," the spokesperson wrote in a statement on X.
"This is completely false. In fact, we added protection resources, technology and capabilities as part of the increased speed the campaign is traveling at."
Bill Pickle, a former deputy director of the Secret Service, said the upcoming investigation will likely assess how the agency communicated with local police and used technology, including drones, to try to identify potential threats.
- There is just no excuse for the Secret Service not being able to provide sufficient resources to cover an open roof 100 meters away from the scene, Pickle told the Wall Street journal.
- And there's just no way he would get those shots off.
**********************
The shooter was a member of a gun club
Nelly Kronstrand
Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was a member of a gun club in Clairton, Pennsylvania.
"We can confirm that Crooks was a member," gun club owner Bill Sellitto wrote in a statement.
However, the club does not want to comment further on Crook's connection to the gun club.
"Obviously, the club condemns the senseless act of violence that occurred yesterday," continues Sellitto.
Inga kommentarer:
Skicka en kommentar