TRUMP LATEST NEWS: The head of the Secret Service has revealed that the shooter who tried to kill former President Trump was identified as a “potential person of suspicion,” but by the time units were able to track him down, he had managed to open fire at the rally in Pennsylvania.
United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle made the remark in an interview that aired on ABC News just hours after Fox News Digital reported that a local law enforcement officer spotted a suspicious man carrying a range-finder just 30 minutes before Saturday’s attempted assassination in Butler.
That officer reported the sighting to state police, a law enforcement source said. He took a photo, and there was a discussion about whether what he was carrying was a pair of binoculars to try and see the rally better. But then a few minutes into Trump’s remarks, the would-be assassin — identified as Thomas Crooks, 20 — began shooting, according to authorities.
Cheatle acknowledged in the interview that responsibility for the security failure that led to the attempted assassination of Trump ultimately rests with herself.
“The buck stops with me,” Cheatle said, adding that “This is an event that should have never happened.”
She said the Secret Service was aware of the security vulnerabilities presented by the building Crooks took a sniper’s position on to aim at Trump. However, a decision was made not to place any personnel on the roof.
“That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof. And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside,” she said.
A local law enforcement officer spotted a suspicious man carrying a range-finder “in or just-outside” the venue before former President Donald Trump took the stage at his rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania on Saturday night, according to a law enforcement source.
The officer reported the sighting to state police, the source said. He took a photo, and there was a discussion about whether what he was carrying was a pair of binoculars to try and see the rally better.
A few minutes into Trump’s remarks, a would-be assassin identified as Thomas Crooks, 20, opened fire, according to authorities. He wounded the former president, killed a 50-year-old father of two and wounded two more spectators before a Secret Service counter-sniper neutralized the threat, according to authorities.
It was not immediately clear how long Crooks was on the roof, but sources say he was initially seen without the gun about 30 minutes before the attack.
State police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the source’s version of events.
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