He United States Secret Service had identified the roof from which they attempted to kill former president and future Republican candidate for the White House, Donald Trump, as a potential security risk days ago, according to NBC.
The agents who prepared the security device days before from the Butler (Pennsylvania) rally were aware of the risk that the building could pose, two sources close to the Secret Service admitted to NBC.
The roof belonged to a ship located about 135 meters from where Trump was scheduled to speak at the rally, but outside the event’s security perimeter.
The Secret Service has said that the security of that building It was the responsibility of local authorities, although the county attorney has denied that version.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who heads the Secret Service, admitted Monday that the incident was a security “failure”.
In a post on social media, Republican Senator Ted Cruz called for the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
For his part, Republican Congressman James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, announced that he will subpoena Cheatle to testify before the legislature next week, after the Republican National Convention concludes.
Cheatle announced in a statement today that on Saturday, after the assassination attempt, he ordered changes to Trump’s security detail.
Trump was shot in the ear during a rally on Saturday before Secret Service snipers shot dead the shooter, a 20-year-old whose motive remains unclear.
He Young man shot from a rooftop very close to the rally moments after several people alerted the security services of his suspicious presence.
What was the attack on Donald Trump like?
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the assailant, used a AR type assault rifle, which authorities believe was acquired by his father. Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh area, said investigators do not yet know whether he took the gun without his father’s permission.
A video posted on social media and geolocated shows Crooks dressed in grey camouflage and carrying a black American flag on his arm right as he lay motionless on the roof of a factory a short distance north of the Butler Farm Show grounds where Trump’s appearance was held.
The roof where the alleged attacker lay was less than 150 meters (164 yards) from where Trump was located, a distance from which a sniper with an acceptable level of aim could reasonably hit a human-sized target. For reference, 150 meters is the distance at which U.S. Army recruits must hit a human-sized silhouette in order to earn a passing grade with the M-16 rifle.
With information from AP