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The US Secret Service is trying to figure out how a gunman armed with an AR-style rifle was able to get close enough to shoot and injure former Prez Donald Trump at a rally Saturday in Pennsylvania, a monumental failure of one of 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 AP analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos, as well as satellite imagery, shows the shooter was able to get astonishingly close to the stage where the ex-prez 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 Butler Farm Show grou nds, where Trump’s rally was held.
The roof was less than 150 metres from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a decent marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target. For reference, 150 metres is a distance at which US army recruits must hit a human-sized silhouette to qualify with the M16 assault rifle in basic training. The ARstyle rifle used by the shooter is the semiautomatic civilian version of the military M16.
The FBI on Sunday identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20. 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. The FBI said it will lead the probe into the shooting, working with the Secret Service and local and state law enforcement.
Two witnesses at the rally clai med to have seen the shooter, with one saying he saw the gunman apparently scouting for a perfect perch to shoot at the former US prez. According to attendee Ben Macer, he “saw the guy move from roof to roof”, CBS News reported. Macer said he told an officer that the shooter was on the roof, approximately “200 to 250 yards” away from where Trump was addressing. “When I turned around to go back to where I was, it was when the gunshots started, and then it was just chaos”.
Butler resident Ryan Knight, another witness along the fence line, also said he saw the suspected shooter atop the American Glass Research building, the CBS report said. “My main thought is why wasn’t the Secret Service on top of AGR? That’s a very big vantage point to shoot at the president. How did that get missed?” Knight asked.
Calls for an investigation came from all sides. James Comer, a Republican who is the House Oversight Committee chairman, said he has called on Secret Service direc tor Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing. Some even called for Cheatle’s resignation. Rep Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat, called for investigating “security failures”. US secretary of homeland security Alejandro Mayorkas said his department and the Secret Service are working with law enforcement to probe the shooting. Maintaining the security of presidential candidates is one of the department’s “most vital priorities”, he said.
The Secret Service, meanwhile, denied accusations by some Trump supporters that it had rejected campaign requests for additional security. “In fact, recently the Secret Service added protective resources and capabilities to the former president’s security detail,” a spokesperson said.
(With inputs from AP,PTI)
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 AP analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos, as well as satellite imagery, shows the shooter was able to get astonishingly close to the stage where the ex-prez 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 Butler Farm Show grou nds, where Trump’s rally was held.
The roof was less than 150 metres from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a decent marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target. For reference, 150 metres is a distance at which US army recruits must hit a human-sized silhouette to qualify with the M16 assault rifle in basic training. The ARstyle rifle used by the shooter is the semiautomatic civilian version of the military M16.
The FBI on Sunday identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20. 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. The FBI said it will lead the probe into the shooting, working with the Secret Service and local and state law enforcement.
Two witnesses at the rally clai med to have seen the shooter, with one saying he saw the gunman apparently scouting for a perfect perch to shoot at the former US prez. According to attendee Ben Macer, he “saw the guy move from roof to roof”, CBS News reported. Macer said he told an officer that the shooter was on the roof, approximately “200 to 250 yards” away from where Trump was addressing. “When I turned around to go back to where I was, it was when the gunshots started, and then it was just chaos”.
Butler resident Ryan Knight, another witness along the fence line, also said he saw the suspected shooter atop the American Glass Research building, the CBS report said. “My main thought is why wasn’t the Secret Service on top of AGR? That’s a very big vantage point to shoot at the president. How did that get missed?” Knight asked.
Calls for an investigation came from all sides. James Comer, a Republican who is the House Oversight Committee chairman, said he has called on Secret Service direc tor Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing. Some even called for Cheatle’s resignation. Rep Ritchie Torres, a New York Democrat, called for investigating “security failures”. US secretary of homeland security Alejandro Mayorkas said his department and the Secret Service are working with law enforcement to probe the shooting. Maintaining the security of presidential candidates is one of the department’s “most vital priorities”, he said.
The Secret Service, meanwhile, denied accusations by some Trump supporters that it had rejected campaign requests for additional security. “In fact, recently the Secret Service added protective resources and capabilities to the former president’s security detail,” a spokesperson said.
(With inputs from AP,PTI)
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