They knew the Crooks roof was dangerous – The Time

The rooftop from which Thomas Matthew Crooks shot former President Donald Trump had been assessed by the Secret Service as “potentially vulnerable” in the days before the Republican candidate’s rally, NBC reported exclusively, citing two of its sources. The building, owned by a glass research firm, is near the Butler Farm Show, an outdoor venue in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Secret Service was aware of the risks associated with it, the sources said. “Someone would have had to be on the roof or secure the building so no one might climb up there,” said one of the sources, a former Secret Service agent who was familiar with the planning.

Despite those concerns, figuring out how the gunman got to the roof is a central question for investigators looking into how a lone attacker managed to shoot Trump at the campaign event. The Secret Service worked with local law enforcement to maintain security at the event, including sniper teams stationed on rooftops to identify and eliminate threats, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. But no agents were stationed at the building used by the 20-year-old Pennsylvania man, which was outside the event’s security perimeter but just 480 feet from the stage, within range of a semiautomatic rifle like the one the gunman was carrying. The Secret Service had designated that rooftop as under local law enforcement jurisdiction, a common practice for protecting outdoor gatherings, Guglielmi said.

Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger noted that his office maintains an Emergency Services Unit, which deployed four sniper teams and four “rapid response teams” to the rally. But he said Secret Service agents were responsible for security outside the site. “They met the week before. The Secret Service ran the rally. They were the ones who directed who was doing what,” Goldinger said. The Secret Service’s work on events like Saturday’s begins with advance planning, setting up a security perimeter and positioning teams on the ground and on rooftops, often in conjunction with local law enforcement. Ground deployments include a counterattack team, and rooftop personnel include counterattack sniper teams. Guglielmi, the Secret Service spokesman, said the agency had two of its own counterattack agents at the event and also deployed two sniper teams. Two other security units needed for the event were staffed by local police agencies.