Questions remain about how would-be political assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks managed to position himself just 100 feet from where Donald Trump was speaking, aim a rifle and fire at least eight shots.
Crooks, 20, was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper moments after he opened fire at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. The presumptive Republican nominee was wounded in the ear, while his supporter Corey Comperatore tragically lost his life.
New videos appear to confirm witness accounts that rally attendees notified law enforcement about Crooks’ presence on the rooftop before Trump took the stage.
Officials said Crooks got into position on the roof of American Glass Research using a ladder. After witnesses alerted police when they saw Crooks, one officer was lifted by another to the roof.
Once there, Crooks pointed his gun at the officer, forcing him to duck for cover. Moments later, shots rang out, terrifying the crowd.
Trump was said to be “in a very good mood” on Sunday when he told the Washington Examiner that he had rewritten the speech he will deliver at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden spoke for about five minutes from the Oval Office, noting that the Republican National Convention would open Monday in Milwaukee while he himself would travel around the country to campaign for re-election.
He said passions would run high on both sides and the stakes in the election were enormous.
But the president added that “it’s time to calm down,” noting not only the weekend attack on Trump but also the possibility of election-year violence on multiple fronts.
Despite these calls for calm, many questions remain unanswered.
How did Thomas Crooks get on the roof?
Police personnel standing next to the shooter’s body on the rooftop.
This 2021 photo provided by the Bethel Park School District shows possible killer Thomas Matthew Crooks, who graduated from Bethel Park High School with the class of 2022.
Authorities have confirmed that Crooks used a ladder to climb onto the roof of the American Glass Research building in Butler, along Evans Road.
It’s unclear how long he was in the vicinity. Trump took the stage at 6:03 p.m. and attendees began filing into the event grounds around 1 p.m.
The crowd was forced to pass through metal detectors before being allowed inside. CNN Crooks is reported to have acted suspiciously in relation to security. It is unclear at what time this was reported.
A message was transmitted to the Secret Service about Crooks, warning them to keep an eye on him.
According to the Associated Press, Trump supporters notified local police patrolling the area about Crooks’ presence at 6:10 p.m.
Why was it not insured?
This is the roof of the building where Thomas Crooks was located. He 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 law enforcement 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 questioned this a bit when he spoke with NBC News.
“They had meetings the week before. The Secret Service was running the show. They were the ones who designated who did what. In the chain of command, they were at the top, they were number one,” he said.
“For me, the whole thing is up to the Secret Service. And they will decide 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 eliminate him?
A member of the public is seen speaking to a police officer before shots rang out, the building where Crooks was is on the right.
The Secret Service is still investigating the response to the shooting.
It took the sniper “seconds” to kill Crooks, a law enforcement source told CBS.
The video reveals that 43 seconds elapsed between the first series of shots being heard and a Secret Service agent saying, “The shooter is down.”
Initial reports indicate that Crooks managed to fire eight bullets into the crowd before being shot dead at 6:11 p.m.
Trump was describing a graphic that was being displayed at the time. “And if you really want to see something that sad… take a look at what happened…”
The next sound heard was a series of explosions, up to six could be heard.
The next sound is a male voice saying, “Down! Down! Down!” Five secret agents invade the stage and provide cover for Trump. Another series of popping sounds are heard.
Twelve seconds later we hear a final volley of gunfire and less than thirty seconds later a voice is heard saying: “The shooter is down.”
The weapon used was an AR-15 rifle chambered for 5.56 mm. At least three attendees, including Comperatore, were injured. Donald Trump was wounded in the ear.
The others were described as “seriously injured.”
Why was the glass manufacturing building outside the security perimeter?
Butler Township snipers provided support to Secret Service snipers who were monitoring the event.
It is unclear why the glass manufacturer’s building remained outside the security perimeter.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said ABC News Monday: “There should not be a direct line of sight like that to the former president. That’s why President Biden ordered an independent investigation into the incident.”
A former Secret Service agent told NBC News that the mere presence of the building should have been enough to pique the interest of those in charge of securing the event.
“The fact that it’s outside the perimeter doesn’t exclude it from vulnerability, and it needs to be mitigated in some way,” the agent said.
Another former Secret Service agent, Anthony Cangelosi, told NBC that one of two scenarios is likely to play out: either there was no plan to deal with a potential sniper on the roof, or it was not executed.
“I don’t like to make assumptions, but it seems that some mistakes were made and that this could have been avoided,” Cangelosi added.
“There will be an intensive review” of the incident and “a massive realignment will be done,” said Joseph LaSorsa, a former Secret Service agent who served on the presidential team. “This cannot happen.”
DA Goldlinger told CBS News that local police provided snipers to assist the Secret Service, meaning there was additional cover.
Those local snipers were positioned to the left of the Secret Service sniper who eliminated Crooks, interrupting his line of sight to Crooks.
During most of Trump’s campaign stops, local police assist the Secret Service in securing the site. Agents from other Department of Homeland Security agencies, such as the Transportation Security Administration, sometimes also assist.
Many Trump rallies draw thousands of spectators, take place outdoors and last for hours.
Before the event, agents scan the site for bombs or other threats, and Trump invariably arrives in a fortified motorcade.
Security officers often set up barriers around the venue and require all attendees to pass through a metal detector to enter the venue. Armed security officers search the bags and even wallets of all attendees.
Many rally attendees are patted down.
Why didn’t the police do anything?
Following the shooting, Trump issued a statement thanking the Secret Service for its “quick response” and offering his condolences to Comperatore.
A video from the scene just before the shooting began shows a man speaking to a local police officer and apparently pointing to the roof of the building where Crooks was lurking.
Other bystanders can be heard directing the officer toward that rooftop.
A witness said KDKA that the shooting began moments after he told a police officer he had seen Crooks.
“When I turned around to go back to where I was, that’s when the shooting started, and then it was chaos, and we all ran out, and that was it,” Ben Macer said.
Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe said CBS News that when police were informed of the sightings of Crooks, they began “looking for him.”
Slupe said a Butler County deputy was taken to the roof where he encountered Crooks.
“All I know is that the officer had both hands on the roof to pull himself up, but he never made it because the shooter had turned toward the officer and, rightly and intelligently, the officer let go,” Slupe said.
“I would have done the same thing, no doubt. People think of officers as supermen, like you’re holding on to the ceiling with one hand and holding on for dear life and pulling out a gun. It doesn’t work that way.”
Paul Eckloff, a former Secret Service agent who retired in 2020, said agents would have inspected all rooftops with line of sight beforehand.
“This person either hid until he became a threat, or he wasn’t a threat until he revealed his weapons,” Eckloff said.