Butler County police had warned the Secret Service that there wasn’t enough manpower to secure the building from where shots were fired at Donald Trump‘s rally on June 13.
Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger was cited by the Washington Post as saying that the local police had informed the Secret Service about the shortage. An official from the Secret Service also confirmed the DA’s account, the report added.
Goldinger claims that the Secret Service “was informed that the local police department did not have manpower to assist with securing that building,” per the Post report.
The Secret Service added that they had planned to place an officer and a patrol car to secure the building. However, there was a security breach as the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, entered the building and fired at least six rounds at Trump and the rally attendees before being shot dead by the agents. He hit the Trump’s ear, injuring him, and struck three other rally attendees, one of whom died.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said earlier that the roof was left unguarded because the slant in it posed danger for the law enforcement snipers.
Meanwhile, calls for Cheatle’s resignation has grown, even though she has dismissed them.
Meanwhile, details about the security breach became clearer on Wednesday after the Senate was briefed on the investigation by the Secret Service. In the briefing, the Secret Service said that the shooter was photographed as suspicious 62 minutes before firing shots, and snipers spotted him 20 minutes prior.
They also revealed that Crooks had checked out the place beforehand and planned the shooting well in advance. His phone records show that he had searched for the details about Trump rally, per the Secret Service. The FBI is investigating the incident as an act of domestic terrorism, but there is no clear motive or connection with foreign terrorism nexus, so far.
