A police sniper returned fire after shots were fired as former President Donald Trump spoke at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on Friday.
Gene J. Puskar/AP
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Gene J. Puskar/AP
The US Secret Service is investigating how a gunman armed with an AR-style rifle could get close enough to shoot and injure former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, a monumental failure of one of the agency’s core tasks.
The gunman, who was killed by Secret Service personnel, fired several shots at the stage from an “elevated position outside the rally area,” the agency said.
An Associated Press analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos taken at Trump’s rally, as well as satellite imagery of the site, suggests the shooter may have been close to the stage where the former president spoke. Video posted to social media and geolocated by the AP showed the body of a man in gray camouflage motionless on the roof of a manufacturing plant north of the Butler Farm Show grounds, where Trump’s rally was held.
The roof was less than 150 meters (yards) from where Trump spoke, the distance a sniper can get at a human-sized target. For reference, 150 meters is the distance at which US Army recruits must shoot a human-sized silhouette to qualify for the M16 assault rifle in basic training. The AR-15, like the shooter at the Trump rally, is a semi-automatic civilian version of the military’s M16.
The FBI earlier Sunday identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pa.
The Secret Service was on hand at a news conference last night where FBI and Pennsylvania State Police officials briefed reporters on their investigation into the shooting. FBI Special Agent Kevin Rojek said it was “shocking” that a gunman could shoot on stage before being killed.
Members of the Secret Service’s counter-sniper team and counter-attack team were at the rally, according to two law enforcement officials. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss details of the investigation.
A heavily armed counter-attack team, whose Secret Service code name is “Hawkeye,” is responsible for eliminating threats so other agents can protect and take out the people they’re protecting. The counter-sniper team, known by the code name “Hercules,” uses long-range binoculars and is equipped with sniper rifles to deal with long-range threats.
US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the department and the Secret Service were working with law enforcement to investigate the shooting. Keeping presidential candidates and campaign events safe is one of the department’s “top priorities.”
“We condemn this violence in the strongest possible way and commend the Secret Service for its swift action today,” Mayorkas said. “We are engaging with President Biden, former President Trump and his campaign, and are taking all possible steps to ensure safety and security.”
Calls for an investigation came from all quarters.
James Comer, Republican of Kentucky who chairs the House Oversight Committee, said he contacted the Service for a briefing and invited Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear at the hearing. Comer said the committee will send an official invitation soon.
“Political violence in all its forms is un-American and unacceptable. There are many questions and Americans demand answers,” Comer said in a statement.
US Rep. Ritchie Torres, New York Democrat, called for investigating the “failure of security” at the rally.
“The federal government must continue to learn from security failures to avoid repeating them, especially if those failures have implications for the country,” Torres said.
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, sent in X that he and his staff are in contact with the security planning coordinator ahead of the Republican National Convention set to start on Friday in Milwaukee. “We cannot be a country that accepts any kind of political violence — that’s not who we are as Americans,” Evers said.
The FBI said it will lead the investigation into the shooting, working with the Secret Service and local and state law enforcement.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department “will bring all available resources to bear on the investigation.”
“My heart goes out to the former President, the injured, and the families of the spectators who died in this horrific attack,” Garland said in a statement. “We will not tolerate any kind of violence, and this kind of violence is an attack on our democracy.”
