After law enforcement detected the possible killer, Thomas Matthew Crooks, and classified him as a user of interest, he managed to disappear from sight and climb onto a roof with a direct line to the former president. He then opened fire and hit Trump in the ear with a bullet, according to the FBI, killing one man in the ear and seriously wounding two others.
ANALYSIS OF TRAJECTORY OF TRUMP’S RALLY BULLET CONTRADICTS CAPITOL HILL TESTIMONY OF FBI ‘SHAPET: REPORT
“This question is the key,” said Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD detective who has been at the command center on other VIP occasions. “That’s where the investigation will ultimately come down. “
Former President Donald Trump is surrounded by United States Secret Service agents after a bullet hit him in the ear during a crossover rally Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The fact that law enforcement knew Crooks as a suspicious individual before Trump arrived on the scene is indicative of a communication failure, he said.
Authorities were actively on Crooks’ side when Trump emerged to begin his speech, and had the shooter not been rattled by a local police officer who peered over the roof in search of the suspect, he may have been killed with the first shot. shot, Mauro. he says.
“If it gets to that level, hold Trump for 20 minutes until you reach it,” he added.
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After receiving a complaint that there were no agents stationed on the roof because it was “tilted,” Cheatle told lawmakers last week that the Secret Service “prefers sterile roofs,” meaning ones secured so no one can climb on them. they.
But the alleged killer managed to upload even though he was known as a suspicious user long before the shooting.
An aerial symbol shows investigators investigating the domain of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pa. , Thursday, July 25, 2024. (Fox Flight Team)
“It’s the elephant in the room,” said Michael Verden, a former Secret Service agent and founder of Lake Forest Group, a security firm. “What we need to decide is why there wasn’t any presence on that roof. “
The police commissioner for the state of Paris, Pennsylvania, said that on a guided tour before the rally, the Secret Service told him that a Butler County tactical team had been assigned to cover the roof.
There are several ongoing investigations similar to the event, some focusing on security breaches and others on Crooks himself. This consultation will be for those interested in making plans and securing the event.
A Secret Service agent in tactical gear looks outside as left-wing agents invade former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in a shooting at a rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“For the USSSS investigation, it is vital to know this so that the user in question can be held accountable,” said Nicole Parker, a former FBI agent. “The idea that law enforcement knew about a possible threat, so why didn’t they cover all the possible vulnerabilities? They were blocked anyway, but especially when they learned about the lifestyle of a suspicious or threatening individual. “
Little is known about Crooks’ motivations. The FBI said last week that he is a key focus of its investigation.
Thomas Matthew Crooks is graduating from Bethel Park High School in 2022. A Secret Service counterattacker shot him after the 20-year-old opened fire in a failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Obtained via Fox News Digital)
“What was the occasion or series of occasions that triggered your resolve to embark on a path of violence?” asked Parker, who has delighted in leading investigations into mass shootings after the Parkland bloodbath in Florida.
He said officials needed to identify the “triggering stressor” that transformed Crooks from a student living with his parents to a potential killer.
Authorities said Crooks had no criminal history or documented intellectual illness. The murder weapon was legally purchased through his father in 2013.
Testimony before Congress last week did little about possible radicalization or ideology, yet a former classmate told Fox News Digital that Crooks “didn’t like politicians. “
TIMELINE: ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF TRUMP
Who, if anyone, do criminals communicate with in their encrypted applications?
The scammers had an empty online presence, but the FBI is scanning their devices.
FBI Director Christopher Wray said last week that investigators had already discovered troubling Google searches, adding the word “how far is Oswald from Kennedy?” »But he also mentioned that criminals used encrypted messaging applications.
WATCH: Trump shooter wanted for JFK assassination a week before rally: FBI director
Even if the government says it acted alone, there may be clues in its communications.
Virtually all criminals today leave some type of evidence on their devices, according to Ashton Packe, a former Las Vegas detective who served on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
“I find it very attractive that it involves encryption,” Verden told Fox News Digital.
Law enforcement took this photo of Thomas Matthew Crooks after calling him a suspicious individual prior to the assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Obtained via Fox News Digital)
This can slow down efforts to analyze one’s virtual footprint, he said.
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“I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but we want to verify that he acted alone and not in collaboration with anyone else,” he added. “And that’s a very important component of this investigation . . . the background of this guy and what he’s done to date. ”
The scammers fatally beat 50-year-old Corey Comperatore and injured 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver.
Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
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