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BUTLER, Pa. (AP) – The young man paced the edges of Donald Trump’s campaign rally, carrying a large backpack on his shoulder and peering through the lens of a rangefinder at the rooftops behind the stage where the former president would stand.
His behavior was so strange, so different from that of the other demonstrators, that the local police noticed, radioed their concerns and took a photo. But then he disappeared.
The image was distributed by officers stationed outside the security perimeter on that hot, sunny Saturday afternoon. But the man did not reappear until witnesses saw him climb the side of a squat factory building within 450 feet of the stage.
There he opened fire, six minutes after Trump began speaking, in an attempt to kill the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. The gunman killed one protester and seriously injured two others. Trump suffered an ear injury but was not seriously injuredwho showed up at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee just days later with a small bandage over the wound.
Now come the questions, and there are plenty. Multiple investigations have been launched, both into the crime itself and how law enforcement allowed it to happen. It is increasingly clear that this was an elaborate failure, with multiple missteps and at least nine local and federal law enforcement departments expected to work together. Law enforcement has also warned of the possibilities for copycat attacks and more violence.
This story is based on interviews with eight law enforcement officials, some of whom spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation into the attempt on Trump’s life.
Multiple agencies work together to secure events
The Secret Service always works with local law enforcement when a president, political candidate or other high-ranking official comes to town, and Saturday’s meeting was no different. A forward-thinking team arrives early to scout the situation and identify potential problem areas. They order vehicles to be moved. They have put up barriers. They block roads.
In some larger cities, one or two local agencies may work alongside the federal teams. In more rural areas, one local agency will not have enough manpower, so multiple agencies are often involved. On Saturday, the show of force involved members of at least six different agencies, including two sheriff’s offices, local police, state police and multiple teams within the Secret Service, plus fire and emergency officials. Within these agencies there are individual departments with different tasks.
In theory, more manpower is better. But it can often cause communication problems, and it is unclear how the information about Crooks was transferred. For example, it is not clear how widely his photo was distributed and whether everyone was equally aware of the potential threat.
All those extra officers can strain resources, leaving agencies overloaded. The Secret Service protects the president, candidates and others at all times, and is also responsible for major national security events. The same goes for local police, who told the Secret Service they didn’t have enough people to station officers outside the building all day.
The Secret Service checks the area inside the perimeter after people pass through metal detectors. Local law enforcement agencies must act beyond the perimeter.
Reports of someone on the roof
The shooter, later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, disappeared from the crowd of Trump supporters, decked out in red, white and blue. The flow of supporters entering through the metal detectors slowed. Trump prepared to move on.
The roof from which Crooks shot is located in a building complex of AGR International Inc., a supplier of automation equipment for the glass and plastic packaging industries. The building was closed that day except for law enforcement.
Crooks was spotted among members again of a local SWAT team stationed in the building complex saw him walking around and looking at the roof. One officer took a photo of Crooks and radioed to others to look for a suspicious person looking through a rangefinder – a small device similar to binoculars that allows hunters to measure the distance to a target.
Not long after, witnesses reported seeing him climb the squat closest to the stage. He then set up his AR-style rifle and lay on the roof, with a detonator in his pocket, to detonate crude explosives stored in his car parked nearby.
Outside, a local officer climbed onto the roof to investigate. The gunman turned and pointed his gun at him. The officer did not, or could not, fire a single shot. But Crooks did, firing into the crowd at the former president and sending away panicked spectators who took cover as Secret Service agents protected Trump and pulled him off the stage. Two counter-sniper teams were stationed on buildings behind Trump, and the team further away from Crooks fired once, killing him.
Many studies, few answers
“We call it a failure,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro said Mayorkas told CNN. “We will conduct an independent review to analyze how that happened and why it happened, and make recommendations and findings to ensure it does not happen again.”
Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have subpoenaed the director of the Secret Service Kim Cheatle. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would create a task force to investigate, and some Republicans have called for Cheatle to resign. Security has been beefed up for Trump and Biden, and candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also received a protective detail.
President Joe Biden has ordered an independent investigation into the shooting. The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general also opened an investigation into the The handling of the secret service of the shooting.
But it is a big task. There were special agents, presidential protection teams, counterstrike teams and sniper teams all present that day. There were also about 50 firefighters and emergency responders, plus dozens of Butler Township police officers, Beaver County and Butler County sheriff’s deputies and Pennsylvania State Police troopers.
It will take weeks – if not months – to interview all the officers involved and determine exactly how Crooks got away the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since then Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.
The shooter had prepared for a massacre. Investigators discovered he had taken several loaded magazines. He also bought 50 rounds of ammunition the day of the shooting. The rifle was legally purchased by his father years earlier.
Investigators found a bulletproof vest in his car and another rudimentary explosive device at his home, where he had received several packages in recent months, including some that may contain hazardous material. The FBI gained access to Crooks’ cell phone, searched his computer, home and car and interviewed more than 100 people so far.
But the investigation has failed to solve the mystery surrounding the biggest question: Why did he do it?
Long reported from Washington, and Balsamo reported from Chicago. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer and Rebecca Santana in Washington and Maryclaire Dale in Butler, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.