Snipers were positioned inside the building where a gunman climbed onto the roof and attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN .
The source said the local sniper team was from the Butler County Emergency Services Unit.
The team, according to the source, was located on the second floor, overseeing the crowd at the rally.
Trump attack calls into question Secret Service’s relationship with local police
The assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump – the worst security failure by the US Secret Service in four decades – has pitted the agency against local authorities, as both say the other was responsible for securing the building where the shooter was perched.
The public discrepancy represents a significant departure from a normally close and successful relationship between the Secret Service and local police and could lead to an erosion of trust that will put even more strain on security operations.
Responsible for a long list of protected individuals, as well as the occasional foreign dignitary, the Secret Service manages thousands of trips requiring protection—a huge burden that requires assistance from local authorities.
In an interview with ABC News on Monday (15), Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said local police were inside the building at the time of the shooting and that it was their role to protect the building from about 400 to 500 feet away, but outside the controlled perimeter and with a direct line of sight to the event.
“There were local police in that building – there were local police in the area who were responsible for the outer perimeter of the building,” Cheatle said.
A source familiar with the investigation told CNN that shooters were inside the building. The local sniper team, from the Butler County Emergency Services Unit, was located on the second floor, keeping an eye on the crowd at the rally, the source said.
A former Secret Service agent took issue with Cheatle placing so much blame on local authorities, telling CNN : “The Service is responsible for everything, not just the inner perimeter. They should make sure that all of that is covered.”
“Officers inside a building — that doesn’t mitigate a vulnerability on high ground,” the former officer said.
A Secret Service spokesman told CNN on Sunday (14) that the agency did not sweep the building where Thomas Matthew Crooks lay face down and fired several shots at Trump.
Instead, the spokesman said, that would have been the responsibility of local authorities – a routine operational decision – and that there should have been someone designated for the post.
Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents more than 1,200 Secret Service officers and agents, stressed that state and local authorities are invaluable partners of the Secret Service and that the relationship is built on trust.
“There will be an erosion of that trust caused by the Secret Service’s reckless statements,” Pasco told CNN . “This is a kind of betrayal of the leadership of the Secret Service by the brave men and women who go in there and do extraordinarily excellent professional work every day.”
“Secret Service agents and officers, the men and women who were there were heroes on Saturday,” Pasco said. “They were let down by a management plan.”
The former Secret Service agent told CNN that investigators will need to determine whether there were sufficient assets or personnel authorized by Secret Service leadership, and it will be necessary to determine whether local police failed to maintain the integrity of their area of responsibility.
“None of this changes the fact that given the realities of the ground and line of sight of this event, the perimeter is nowhere near expansive enough and is, in fact, dangerously close from a protective operations perspective,” the source said.
Pasco, however, also objected to Cheatle’s delay in responding to questions and issuing a public statement.
She told ABC News: “The buck stops with me.”
Pasco replied to CNN : “Apparently it took two days for the ball to stop.”
Video: Gunman seen two minutes before Trump was shot
Images recorded by participants in former US President Donald Trump’s rally last Saturday (13), in Pennsylvania, show that the perpetrator of the attack against the Republican candidate was identified about two minutes before opening fire.
In the recording, Trump supporters can be heard shouting that someone was on the roof and Butler County police officers surrounding the building.
Still, the shooter manages to maintain his position and fires at Trump. The 20-year-old is only killed six seconds into the attack, by a Secret Service sniper who was about 100 meters away.
See the minute by minute:
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
