The acting Secret Service director most recently revealed that Donald Trump’s security detail and a sniper team were unaware of a gunman on a roof until he began shooting at the former president.
Local law enforcement had identified the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, as a “suspicious person” about 90 minutes before the July 13 incident at a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to FBI officials.
Following the assassination attempt, questions have been raised regarding when the Secret Service became aware of the gunman’s presence on the rooftop overlooking the event.
Acting Secret Service chief Ronald Rowe told a joint Senate committee, “Based on what I know right now, neither the Secret Service counter-sniper teams nor members of the former president’s security detail had any knowledge that there was a man on the AGR roof with a firearm.”
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He added, “The only thing we had was that locals were working an issue at the three o’clock, which would have been the former president’s right-hand side, which is where the shots came from. Nothing about man on the roof, nothing about man with a gun.”
FBI Special Agent Kevin Rojek recently stated that a police officer was lifted onto the roof by another officer at 6:11 PM, where the officer encountered Thomas Matthew Crooks, who aimed his rifle at him.
The officer immediately dropped to the ground. About 25 to 30 seconds after this encounter, Crooks fired eight rounds before being neutralized. Crooks was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper within 15.5 seconds of firing the first shot.
The Republican presidential candidate was injured in the right ear, while two rally attendees were also injured, and a Pennsylvania firefighter was killed.