The idea of an empty rooftop in the line of sight of former President Donald Trump at a distance less than Ohio Stadium is long is inconceivable to Jim Scanlon, a retired Columbus police sniper who has worked extensively with the U.S. Secret Service.
"You work with wood lines, rooftops, bridges, anything with a potential threat," Scanlon said. "When you allow a rooftop, from 130 yards, to be unmanned, that's an easy rifle shot, even for a very untrained person. I could teach anyone how to take that shot."
Scanlon, like others, is questioning how Saturday's assassination attempt against the former president in Butler Township, Pennsylvania, was possible given the advance planning, scouting and exhaustive training required of dozens of Secret Service agents and state and local law enforcement officials.
"There's no way to see it any other way than a complete failure," said Scanlon.
Officials have said that Secret Service will often supplement their authority with local police. But, Scanlon said, "the Secret Service doesn't have the authority to delegate a roof that is 130 yards away. Instead they would assign law enforcement to assist them in such areas.
"That is a red zone, a no-go," he said of the open roof of American Glass Research company from which the FBI alleges Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, fired his AR-15-type rifle on Trump.
Butler County (Pennsylvania) Sheriff Michael Slupe on Monday said that an officer had been alerted to the gunman's suspicious behavior, followed him to the building and tried to stop him.
"All I know is the officer had both hands on the roof to get up on the roof, never made it because the shooter had turned towards the officer, and rightfully and smartly, the officer let go," Slupe told KDKA-TV, a CBS affiliate in Pittsburgh.
It was unclear whether the officer who tried to intervene was armed or how they made it to the roof.
Televised pictures of snipers behind the stage where Trump had begun to speak appeared to be looking in the direction of the sloped-roof building just as Trump began to speak.
Why they didn't fire before Crooks ever had a chance to aim at Trump let alone open fire also baffles Scanlon.
"You wonder if they saw the threat and hesitated," Scanlon said. "But the real failure comes with not having someone on that roof. From 130 yards away, you have to own that roof.
"I have never been on a detail where that possibly could have happened."
Scanlon worked as a Columbus police sniper from 1989 to 2011, assigned to numerous Secret Service sniper teams covering former and current presidents from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama.
"Any time that Secret Service would come to town for a presidential visit they would enlist our help in being part of a counter-sniper team." He's been fascinated and shocked by news accounts, reliving his real-life experiences.
In the moments before a president emerges on stage, from a limousine or in a hallway, "that's when the heart starts pumping and you're on heightened alert," he said. Even before that, he said, you have to "look for people who don't look happy to be there or they're on edge.
"You have to be decisive. You have to be cool and calm. But you can't delay, not when you see a person on a roof that you know is not law enforcement."
Scanlon said the security planning and response in Pennsylvania will have to be thoroughly investigated.
"They have to be devastated by what happened," Scanlon said. And the security lapse extends to the public.
"Everyone feels a loss of security right now," Scanlon said. "This is shocking and devastating for a lot of people, regardless of party affiliation. It's an assault on our country."
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