Current:Home > StocksSigns of trouble at Trump rally were evident in minutes before gunman opened fire-LoTradeCoin
Signs of trouble at Trump rally were evident in minutes before gunman opened fire
View Date:2024-12-23 11:27:26
BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Signs of trouble were evident in the minutes before shots rang out at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania: Police had a report of a suspicious man pacing near the magnetometers and were apparently exchanging photos of the suspect. Witnesses pointed and shouted at an armed man on a nearby roof.
When a police officer climbed up to the roof to investigate, the gunman turned and pointed his rifle at him. But the officer did not — or could not — fire a single shot.
A sniper cut down 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks within seconds of him firing an AR-style rifle toward the former president, but it was too late. Now investigators are trying to painstakingly piece together how an armed man with no military background managed to reach high ground and get the jump on teams of Secret Service agents.
President Joe Biden has ordered an independent investigation of the attempted assassination. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he has “full confidence” in the Secret Service’s leadership, but he conceded that the gunman never should have reached that deadly position.
“We are speaking of a failure,” Mayorkas told CNN. “We are going to analyze through an independent review how that occurred, why it occurred, and make recommendations and findings to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
At least a dozen police officers and sheriff’s deputies were assisting the Secret Service and Pennsylvania State Police with rally security.
What to know about the 2024 Election
- Democracy: American democracy has overcome big stress tests since 2020. More challenges lie ahead in 2024.
- AP’s Role: The Associated Press is the most trusted source of information on election night, with a history of accuracy dating to 1848. Learn more.
- We want to hear from you: Did the attempted assassination on former president Donald Trump change your perspective on politics in America?
- Read the latest: Follow AP’s live coverage of this year’s election.
Several rallygoers reported to local officers that Crooks was acting suspiciously and pacing near the magnetometers, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the investigation.
It was a Butler Township police officer who encountered the gunman on the roof before the shooting. The officer was looking for the suspicious person when another officer hoisted him up so he could grab the edge of the roof, local officials said.
The officer dropped back down to safety when the gunman turned and pointed his rifle at him, according to Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe.
Slupe, who was inside the rally venue when the shooting erupted and did not witness the encounter, said the officer could not have wielded his own gun under the circumstances.
“I think all law enforcement on site did everything that they could, especially the local law enforcement,” Slupe told The Associated Press on Monday. “I hope they’re not made a scapegoat, because they did their job to the best of their abilities.”
Butler Township Manager Tom Knights said the officer lost his grip and was not retreating when he fell 8 feet to the ground.
“He was literally dangling from the edge of a building and took the defensive position he needed to at that time. He couldn’t hold himself up,” Knights said.
The officer, who has 10 years of experience in law enforcement, severely injured an ankle in the fall and was in a walking boot, Knights said.
Two spectators were critically wounded in the shooting. A former fire chief, 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, was killed.
The FBI said it was investigating the attack as a potential act of domestic terrorism, but the agency had not identified a clear ideological motive. The FBI believes Crooks, who had bomb-making materials in the car he drove to the rally, acted alone.
The agency said in a statement Monday that it had successfully gained access to Crooks’ cellphone and was analyzing all his electronic devices for any clues about a possible motive. The bureau also said that it has finished searching the suspect’s home and car.
The FBI has conducted nearly 100 interviews of law enforcement officials, attendees at the rally and other witnesses, and it has received hundreds of digital media tips.
Authorities said they believe the gunman’s AR-style rifle was purchased by his father. Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge in Pittsburgh, said investigators do not yet know if Crooks took the gun without his father’s permission.
The roof where Crooks lay was less than 150 meters (164 yards) from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a decent marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target. That is a distance at which U.S. Army recruits must hit a scaled human-sized silhouette to qualify with the M-16 rifle.
veryGood! (18)
Related
- Why Kathy Bates Decided Against Reconstruction Surgery After Double Mastectomy for Breast Cancer
- Protesters march through Miami to object to Florida’s Black history teaching standards
- Maui animal shelter housing pets whose owners lost their homes to deadly fires
- Tesla's new Model X and S standard range electric cars are cheaper, but with 1 big caveat
- See Leonardo DiCaprio's Transformation From '90s Heartthrob to Esteemed Oscar Winner
- Why Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean Separates His Persona From His Real Self as Alex
- Watch the delightful moment this mama pig and her piglets touch grass for the first time
- Cell phone photos and some metadata. A son's search for his mother in Maui
- 'Full House' star Dave Coulier diagnosed with stage 3 cancer
- An abandoned desert village an hour from Dubai offers a glimpse at the UAE’s hardscrabble past
Ranking
- Wicked's Ethan Slater Shares How Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo Set the Tone on Set
- Patrick Hamilton, ex-AP and Reuters photographer who covered Central American wars, dies at 74
- Transportation disaster closes schools, leaves students stranded in Louisville, Kentucky
- Luke Combs announces 2024 US tour: All 25 dates on the Growin' Up and Gettin' Old Tour
- Timothée Chalamet Details How He Transformed Into Bob Dylan for Movie
- New Jersey OKs slightly better settlement over polluted land where childhood cancer cases rose
- Massachusetts trying to jump-start effort to replace Cape Cod bridges
- Everything Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt Have Said About Each Other Since Their 2005 Breakup
Recommendation
-
Who is Rep. Matt Gaetz, the Florida congressman Donald Trump picked to serve as attorney general?
-
Drive a Ford, Honda or Toyota? Good news: Catalytic converter thefts are down nationwide
-
Former soldier convicted of killing Alabama police officer
-
US wildlife managers agree to review the plight of a Western bird linked to piñon forests
-
'Unfortunate error': 'Wicked' dolls with porn site on packaging pulled from Target, Amazon
-
Minnesota woman sentenced to 7 years in prison in $7M pandemic aid fraud scheme
-
Israel may uproot ancient Christian mosaic. Where it could go next is sparking an outcry.
-
Maui animal shelter housing pets whose owners lost their homes to deadly fires