Washington: As the FBI is in quandary to know how the gunman came so close to former US president Donald Trump, the security officials identified the attacker, who attempted to assassinate former US President Donald Trump. The man has been identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, New York Post reported, citing sources.
Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, fired shots, one of which pierced through Trump in the ear at an outdoor rally in Butler. Thomas Matthew Crooks was planted on the roof of a manufacturing plant located over 130 yards away from the stage at Butler Farm Show grounds, the New York Post reported, citing sources.
The US Secret Service snipers shot him and an AR-style rifle was later recovered. Bethel Park is a village 40 miles south of where Trump's rally was held in Butler. Crooks' motive behind firing on the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is unclear.
Donald Trump was on stage at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania's Butler before gunshots rang out and Secret Service agents stormed the stage, The Hill reported.
Meanwhile, the US Secret Service is investigating how a gunman armed with an AR-style rifle was able to get close enough to shoot and injure former President Donald Trump at a rally Saturday in Pennsylvania, a monumental failure of one the agency's core duties.
The gunman, who was killed by Secret Service personnel, fired multiple shots at the stage from an elevated position outside of the rally venue, the agency said.
An Associated Press analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos taken at the Trump rally, as well as satellite imagery of the site, shows the shooter was able to get astonishingly close to the stage where the former president was speaking.
A video posted to social media and geolocated by the AP shows the body of a man wearing gray camouflage lying motionless on the roof of a manufacturing plant just north of the Butler Farm Show grounds, where Trump's rally was held.
The roof was less than 150 meters (yards) from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a decent marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target. For reference, 150 meters is a distance at which U.S. Army recruits must hit a scaled human-sized silhouette to qualify with the M16 assault rifle in basic training. The AR-15, like the shooter at the Trump rally had, is the semi-automatic civilian version of the military M16.
The Secret Service didn't have anybody at a late-night news conference where FBI and Pennsylvania State Police officials briefed reporters on the shooting investigation. FBI Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek said it was surprising that the gunman was able to fire at the stage before he was killed.
Members of the Secret Service's counter sniper team and counter assault team were at the rally, according to two law enforcement officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss details of the investigation.
The heavily-armed counter assault team, whose Secret Service code name is Hawkeye, is responsible for eliminating threats so that other agents can shield and take away the person they are protecting. The counter sniper team, known by the code name Hercules, uses long-range binoculars and is equipped with sniper rifles to deal with long-range threats.
US secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said his department and the Secret Service are working with law enforcement to investigate the shooting. Maintaining the security of presidential candidates and their campaign events is one of the department's most vital priorities, he said.
"We condemn this violence in the strongest possible terms and commend the Secret Service for their swift action today, Mayorkas said. We are engaged with President Biden, former President Trump and their campaigns, and are taking every possible measure to ensure their safety and security."
Calls for an investigation came from all sides. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican who is the House Oversight Committee chairman, said he contacted the Service Service for a briefing and called on Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing. Comer said his committee will send a formal invitation soon.
Political violence in all forms is unamerican and unacceptable. There are many questions and Americans demand answers, Comer said in a statement.
U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat, called for investigating security failures at the rally. The federal government must constantly learn from security failures in order to avoid repeating them, especially when those failures have implications for the nation, Torres said.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, posted on X that he and his staff are in contact with security planning coordinators ahead of the Republican National Convention set to begin Monday in Milwaukee. We cannot be a country that accepts political violence of any kind that is not who we are as Americans, Evers said.
The FBI said it will lead the investigation into the shooting, working with the Secret Service and local and state law enforcement. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department "will bring every available resource to bear to this investigation. (With agency inputs)
