Questions mount over security failures in Trump assassination attempt

Five days after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, questions remain about the shooter. Officials want to know how the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, got onto the roof of the American Glass Research (AGR) building and was detected by the Secret Service 20 minutes before he fired several shots, grazing Trump’s ear and striking three people in the crowd.

Volunteer firefighter and father, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore , was killed shielding his wife and daughter from the gunfire.

At the RNC on Wednesday, July 17, Lawmakers could be seen on video pressing U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle for answers and accountability.

Tom Knights, the township manager of Butler, Pennsylvania, said the city told the Secret Service two days before the rally that local police did not have the resources to secure the building.

“I was indicated we did not have the manpower to, to, you know, take that task on as well based on the number of officers on duty,” Knights said.

He said the Secret Service and local police walked around the site to assess it days before the rally. Several buildings, including the AGR building, were identified as “areas of concern.”

Secret Service Director Cheatle has said the Secret Service was supposed to be on the roof of the AGR building but those plans changed due to safety concerns of a “sloped” roof.

Knights also confirmed that one to two local SWAT and sniper team members were stationed inside the AGR building during the rally, while Crooks was on the roof.

Additionally, two Pittsburgh police motorcycle officers who claimed to have received authorization to assist with Trump’s motorcade were removed from the unit after the shooting, according to a report from WPXI News.

That decision sparked controversy within the department.

Those officers were also injured by shrapnel and could be seen on video helping two wounded victims in the crowd. According to the report, sources inside the department said the officers did not receive proper permission to assist with the motorcade.

Secret Service Director Cheatle told ABC News that the shooting never should have happened.

“What I would say is Secret Service is responsible for the protection of the former president,” Cheatle said. “The buck stops with me. I am the director of the Secret Service. It’s something that’s unacceptable and it shouldn’t happen again.”

Cheatle is expected to testify in front of a House Oversight Committee on Monday, July 22.

Meanwhile, the attempted assassination remains under investigation.

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