A Butler County official said on Wednesday that local authorities had informed the U.S. Secret Service that local police lacked the manpower to help secure the building used by the shooter who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump last weekend.
The Secret Service “was informed that the local police department did not have manpower to assist with securing that building,” Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger told The Washington Post,
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi confirmed this account to the outlet and provided additional details. He said that stationing a patrol car and an officer outside of the building was part of the agency’s advanced security planning proposal.
Local police stationed inside the building called in reports of a suspicious person with a golf range finder and backpack and sent a photograph of him to the Secret Service team around 20 to 30 minutes before the shooting, Mr. Guglielmi said.
The Agr International building has a large roof, slightly sloped, which provided an unimpeded view of where former President Trump stood at the podium to speak to rallygoers, less than 150 yards away.
Butler County is the town where former President Trump held his campaign rally on Saturday, when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, climbed onto the roof of the Agr International building just outside the security perimeter and fired multiple shots. His bullets grazed the Republican presidential candidate’s ear, killed one rallygoer, and injured two more before Secret Service agents killed Mr. Crooks in a swift response.
Mr. Goldinger also exclusively told The New York Times that a local officer fired upon Mr. Crooks, whose identity has been revealed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). “Our guys did engage him,” Mr. Goldinger said.
Butler County provided four sniper teams, four fast-response teams, and officers to help the Secret Service at the July 13 rally. They were deployed near a barn near the rally.
In the aftermath of the shooting, videos emerged showing people spotting the shooter on the roof and alerting authorities.
Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe told Reuters that an officer was hoisted to the roof by his partner, but dropped back down when the shooter aimed his rifle at the officer, who was gripping the edge of the roof and could not access his service weapon under the circumstances. After that, Mr. Crooks quickly fired at former President Trump who was speaking to rally attendees around 400 feet away.
