The Secret Service is now under scrutiny following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. While Trump is praising agents for their quick action, questions are being raised; the biggest being how the shooter was able to get on top of a roof less than 400 feet from the former president.
The gunman, identified by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks, was a member of a local gun club and worked as a dietary aide at a nursing facility.
He graduated from high school in 2022. Classmates described him as a “loner” and someone who was “bullied.”
Crooks was registered as a Republican voter though he allegedly donate $15 to a Democratic-aligned political action committee on President Joe Biden’s inauguration day in 2021.
Reports say witnesses spotted the suspect carrying a rifle outside the security area of the rally and alerted local law enforcement. An officer reportedly approached the shooter on the roof. The suspect pointed a gun at the officer who retreated, and moments later the suspect fired at the former president.
NBC News reports the rooftop where the shots were fired from was identified as a potential vulnerability, but it fell outside the Secret Service’s security perimeter. The agency designated that building to be under the jurisdiction of local law enforcement, which the agency’s spokesman said is not uncommon.
President Biden has directed an “independent review” of the security measures taken before and after the assassination attempt. He has called for a review of security measures being taken at this week’s Republican National Convention.
The FBI is looking into whether the shooter used his father’s gun. Law enforcement sources told news outlets the gun was an AR-15 style rifle that was purchased legally.
