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New York Post
Local cops warned Secret Service they lacked manpower to patrol, secure building used by Trump rally shooter: report
By Ronny Reyes,
5 hours ago
Local police warned the Secret Service ahead of time that they did not have the manpower to secure the building where Thomas Matthew Crooks shot and injured Donald Trump, law enforcement officials said.
Richard Goldinger – the district attorney in Butler County, Pennsylvania, where Saturday’s campaign rally was held – said the Secret Service “was informed that the local police department did not have manpower to assist with securing that building,” the Washington Post reports .
A Secret Service official confirmed Goldinger’s account and said that positioning an officer and patrol car outside the building was part of the agency’s plan to secure the structure, the Washington Post reported.
Local police said they had warned the Secret Service that they didn’t have the manpower to guard the building where the gunman shot from. Steven Hirsch
The building’s roof allowed the shooter to get a clear shot of Donald Trump, who was hit in the ear. AP
Despite the failure, Crooks still managed to get on top of the building, which gave him a clear line of sight on Trump just 130 yards away.
Embattled Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle previously told ABC News that the agency decided not to guard the roof because it was too slanted and posed a safety issue for a law enforcement sniper team.
The Secret Service and local police remain under fire over the lapse in security that allowed Crooks to get a clear shot at Trump.
The mounting pressure against the agencies comes following a flood of reports that Crooks had been sought after by officers at the rally for about 30 minutes before the shooting, with one local cop coming face-to-face with the gunman just moments before he opened fire on the former president.
Thomas Matthew Crooks was spotted around 30 minutes before the shooting as cops tried to track him down. WPXI Snipers took out Crooks quickly after he began firing at Trump and his supporters. Obtained by NY Post
Both agencies have pointed the finger at each other over the shooting, with the Secret Service claiming it was up to local police to guard the outer perimeter of the rally where Crooks fired from.
The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has opened a formal investigation into the Secret Service’s handling of Trump’s protection on the day of the shooting.
It came following President Joe Biden’s call to launch an independent review of the security at the rally, with top Republican officials calling on Cheatle to resign over the apparent security failings.
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