A catastrophic lapse in security occurred during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, leading to an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Daily Mail reported that a Secret Service failure during a rally allowed Thomas Crooks to carry out an assassination attempt despite alert warnings and sniper teams in place.
On Saturday night, Thomas Crooks, 20, attempted to assassinate former President Trump at a rally. The incident happened despite the presence of two Secret Service sniper teams, who were stationed on nearby roofs facing the building from which Crooks launched his attack.
The sniper teams, described in the footage as armed and wearing black gear, had a clear view of the American Glass Research building where Crooks had positioned himself. Just under two minutes before shots rang out, these teams were adjusting their positions in preparation to cover that direction.
However, rally-goers first alerted the Secret Service to Crooks' presence on the building. Witness Greg Smith expressed his confusion over the delay in pulling Trump off the stage, wondering aloud why there hadn't been more immediate action.
Minutes after the warning, footage signals the moment when the sniper teams moved into place on rooftops behind Trump. Still, they did not neutralize the threat until it was too late, resulting in Trump being grazed by a shot in the ear.
At 6:15 pm, Secret Service agents were seen rushing onto the stage to protect Trump, who was hit and ducked behind the podium, clutching his ear.
Crooks managed to fire at least eight shots from his position outside the designated secure perimeter, killing one rally-goer, Corey Comperatore, and critically injuring two others, including David Dutch, a 57-year-old marine veteran.
Law enforcement recovered an AR-style rifle from the building’s roof. Crooks had climbed to his vantage point and targeted Trump from a distance of 130 yards.
Former Secret Service agent Joseph LaSorsa commented on the oversight, predicting an "intensive review" and "massive realignment" of agency procedures. LaSorsa suggested that the agents might have been overextended, trying to cover multiple potential threat areas.
There has been an outcry for an investigation into the security failure. A former Secret Service agent strongly criticized the security measures, stating the rooftops should have been secured to prevent such a breach.
The Secret Service had identified the rooftop as a vulnerability in the days leading up to the rally, yet this foresight did not prevent the tragedy. Following the incident, explosive devices were found both in Crooks' vehicle and home, necessitating the dispatch of bomb technicians to the rally site.
Crooks, whose political background includes Republican registration and donations to the liberal ActBlue PAC, represented an unpredictable threat. He parked his vehicle near the rally before scaling the roof of the American Glass Research building to launch his attack.
In the moments after being struck, Trump stood up with blood running down his face, raised his fist, and defiantly yelled "fight" before being escorted off stage. The FBI's bomb squad later uncovered more explosives at Crooks' residence.
Security failures at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday night, allowed Thomas Crooks to carry out an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Despite warnings from rally-goers and the presence of sniper teams, Crooks fired at least eight shots, fatally wounding one attendee and critically injuring two, before being taken down. In the aftermath, calls for a thorough investigation into the Secret Service's oversight have intensified, alongside the shocking discovery of explosive devices associated with Crooks.
