The attempted assassination of former President Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday has raised questions about security procedures and how a gunman was able to open fire so close to the Republican front-runner.
For several minutes, witnesses pointed to an inconspicuous roof just outside the venue where Trump was speaking, and several people yelled at police that a man with a rifle was aiming at Trump.
Videos shared on social media showed protesters pleading and yelling, “He has a gun.” Gunshots rang out from the would-be assassin, and Secret Service snipers returned fire.
The former president crouched with his hands on the sides of his face, with blood trickling near his right ear, as Secret Service agents quickly surrounded him and took him away.
Former President Trump is being monitored by US Secret Service agents.
(Evan Vucci/The Associated Press)
The shooting, which killed one spectator and injured President Trump and two others, stunned operatives from both parties, who saw the precision, care and attention to detail that the Secret Service puts into keeping its personnel safe. U.S. presidents and former presidents are among the most closely guarded political figures in the world, with multiple layers of security, some visible in public and some secret.
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on Sunday by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Secret Service and the Attorney General's office about the assassination attempt and its perpetrators, but a motive has not been released.
Biden said he had ordered a “thorough and immediate investigation” into what happened.
“There is no room in America for this kind of violence, or any violence,” Biden said at a news conference. “More importantly, this assassination attempt goes against everything we stand for as a nation. It is not who we are as a nation.”
Biden said he has consistently directed the Secret Service to provide Trump with “all the resource capabilities and safeguards necessary to ensure his continued security.”
The president also directed the Secret Service to review security for the Republican National Convention and ordered an independent national security investigation into the Pennsylvania rally, saying he would “assess exactly what happened and communicate the results of that independent investigation to the American people.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) joined the chorus of politicians asking why a shooting occurred at a rally for the former president.
Johnson said on the “Today” show that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas could not say whether drones were being used to spot potential security threats at the rally.
“How could there have been people at that altitude seen by bystanders on the ground? How could the Secret Service not have noticed?,” Johnson said Sunday morning. “There will be more questions and answers this morning.”
Democrat Bill Burton saw the rigorous level of security firsthand during the 2008 campaign and later when he accompanied then-Senator Barack Obama as part of the White House administration.
“A lot of times in politics, people ignore the humanity of the other side, but at the end of the day, former President Trump came very close to losing his life today,” Burton said after watching the incident live on a television monitor during a layover at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. “I don't think any of us want to live in a country where that's our reality for our leaders, even in the months and years to come.”
At campaign rallies and official White House events, the level of security for spectators is more rigorous than at an airport checkpoint; even innocuous items like umbrellas are often confiscated. Security for reporters and other personnel in close proximity to the president or top candidates is even more rigorous, including background checks and the use of trained dogs to sniff bags and equipment.
In addition to these public efforts, agents often wait on rooftops with long guns when subjects make public appearances; motorcades are guarded by federal, state and local law enforcement; buildings and event venues are pre-screened and secured, and intelligence about potential threats is reviewed.
Police snipers returned fire after a shooting at a campaign event for former President Trump on Saturday.
(Jean J. Puskar/The Associated Press)
However, attendees at Saturday's rally said not all buildings around the venue were guarded by the Secret Service, witnesses told the BBC.
Greg Smith said he spotted the gunman crawling on a nearby roof before shots rang out, and that he and other officers spent three to four minutes pointing at the gunman, trying to alert police and the Secret Service to his presence.
“We were pointing at the man,” Smith told the BBC. “He had a rifle. We could clearly see he had a rifle.”
Smith believes officers may not have been able to see the man because of the sloped roof where he was standing. Other photos shared on social media by witnesses at the rally show the suspect lying face down with a rifle. A video shared on X shows chaotic scenes with people yelling, “He's got a gun!”
Witnesses said Trump continued speaking on stage as the scene unfolded.
“I'm asking myself: 'Why is Trump still speaking? Why don't we get him off the stage?'” Smith said.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi addressed the criticism of security shortcomings in a statement posted to X on Sunday. Guglielmi said it was not true that the Trump campaign had “requested and been denied additional security resources.”
“Indeed, we have added protective resources, technology and capabilities to accommodate the increased pace of campaign travel,” Guglielmi said.
A police source added that the rooftop was outside the security network set up by the Secret Service and that the venue's arrangements were currently under investigation.
The FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. FBI officials said late Saturday that a motive for the shooting has not yet been determined.
The shooting range where the gun was fired and Crooks' clothing initially led to speculation he may have had military experience, but all branches of the military checked their records Sunday and said in response to inquiries from The Associated Press that they had no record of him having served in the military.
“We have checked with each branch of the military and a suspect with that name and date of birth does not serve in any branch,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said Sunday.
The assassination attempt came on the eve of the Republican National Convention, which begins in Milwaukee on Monday, with Trump expected to accept the party's nomination on Thursday.
Security is always very tight during such events and will no doubt be even tighter in the wake of this incident.
Law enforcement officers gathered at the rally site after the shooting.
(Evan Vucci/The Associated Press)
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Wisconsin's Democratic governor, Tony Evers, said he and his staff were in contact with agencies coordinating security for the event.
“We should not be a country that tolerates political violence of any kind. That is not who we are as Americans,” Evers said on the social media platform “X.”
The last publicly known assassination attempt on a president or former president was in 1981, when Ronald Reagan was shot and seriously injured as he was leaving a Washington hotel.
Butler County District Attorney Richard A. Goldinger told CNN on Saturday that the shooter was outside the compound where President Trump was speaking.
“Frankly, I don't know how he got there,” Goldinger said, “and I think we need to figure out how he got there.”
“We haven't seen anything like this since Reagan,” he added. “It's shocking. Maybe we've become a little complacent, thinking this wouldn't happen to a president or a former president, but this is insanity. Sadly, this may just be the state of the political climate right now.”
Roy Taylor, a law enforcement consultant who has coordinated security for political events for decades, said securing elevated positions around the venue is key to ensuring the safety of those being protected.
Taylor, who was not involved in protecting Trump in Pennsylvania, said the Secret Service acted quickly to kill Crooks once they learned of his location, but he questioned why the roof was left open in the first place.
“We need to either get everybody out of the building or get officers in the building,” he said. “We need to secure the building. Obviously, it's easier to shoot somebody down than it is to fire a gun, because if you fire a gun, you have the advantage.”
Taylor said it was unclear what the security situation was like for the troops on the scene, adding that there could have been a lot of information coming from rally attendees, radio conversations and President Trump's speech nearby.
Taylor said that as a former president, Trump already has Secret Service personnel, but that number would likely increase if he accepts the Republican nomination.
Taylor helped coordinate the security team for the 2020 Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. In the year leading up to the convention, the security team met regularly to coordinate all aspects of the event.
But security forces on the campaign trail don't have that luxury, he said, adding they are working on a faster schedule and coordinating with local law enforcement.
“It would be difficult to do a complete security assessment and cover every aspect with the resources we have,” Taylor said.
In the wake of the shooting, several politicians have called for scrutiny of the Secret Service. Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has called for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify at a hearing on July 22.
“I cannot emphasize enough the extraordinary bravery of the individual U.S. Secret Service agents who protected President Trump, removed the shooter, and likely prevented further casualties,” Comer said in the invitation. In a post on X, he wrote, “The American people demand an explanation for the attempted assassination of President Trump.”
An adviser to 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said outdoor events pose an exponential increase in risk and are “the most difficult.”
Secret Service agents helped escort former President Trump off the stage after the shooting.
(Jean J. Puskar/The Associated Press)
“There are many ways that weapons can get in. They could have been thrown over the fence. They could have been dug into the ground and placed there first. No one knows,” the adviser said, speaking candidly about the situation on condition of anonymity.
Burton said the Secret Service “provides the best security in the world, but any security official will tell you it's nearly impossible to stop a lone wolf willing to give his life for a cause.”
Obama received Secret Service protection earlier than any other presidential candidate in history due to the level of threats against him.
“I was really shocked and immediately saddened,” Barton said of Saturday's violence.
The Secret Service was first tasked with protecting the President in 1902 after the assassination of President McKinley the previous year. The Secret Service's mission of protecting national leaders and their families has expanded over the years, most notably after the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963.
