| Saturday’s assasination attempt, however, will be the agency’s biggest black eye in recent memory.
The gunman, identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was only about 450 feet from Trump when he opened fire from the roof of a nearby building, writes BI’s Rebecca Rommen.
He used an “AR-style” rifle that was legally purchased, according to the FBI, and police found explosives inside his car.
At least one local officer reportedly encountered Crooks on the roof prior to the shooting, but retreated. Crooks was able to fire off three rounds before a counter-sniper returned fire, killing him.
The post-shooting response by Trump’s security detail was “textbook,” but things like the heat and staffing cost the team crucial seconds, a former special agent told BI’s Laura Italiano and Kenneth Niemeyer.
Ultimately, another former Secret Service agent said the entire event represents a failure for Trump’s security detail, BI’s Matthew Loh and Cameron Manley report.
And while Trump was able to escape relatively unharmed, at least one rallygoer was killed while two others were critically injured. Corey Comperatore, 50, was shielding his wife and daughters when he was killed, his family said. |