Goldinger’s story was corroborated by a Secret Service official with knowledge of the incident, who spoke on condition of anonymity to remain candid about a sensitive, ongoing investigation.
The Secret Service official confirmed that positioning an agent outside the building was seen as one way to guard against the risk the agency prepares for at all public events — that a shooter in a high spot would have a clear view of the president or other high-ranking officials being protected. The building, owned by Agr International, was just outside the security perimeter for Saturday’s gathering.
Authorities from several jurisdictions were on the scene Saturday, and officials are still trying to determine how the building was secured — and how the 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, reached the roof. But local law enforcement’s warning about a lack of manpower raises questions about whether there was adequate security for the high-stakes presidential campaign visit.
Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was using an AR-style rifle that was legally purchased by his father in 2013. Authorities have confirmed that his father has purchased more than a dozen guns over the years, but it was not immediately clear how many he still owned at the time of the shooting, two officials said.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, also said a remote device was found on Crooks’ roof after he was shot. The FBI has previously said “rudimentary” suspicious devices were found in Crooks’ vehicle, near the shooting and at the home where he lived with his parents. Authorities are still trying to determine what prompted Crooks to launch the attack. So far, they believe he acted alone.
The proposal to station a patrol car and an agent outside the Agr International complex was part of the Secret Service’s planning to secure the conspicuous building, which had a large roof with an unobstructed view of the rally’s stage, which was less than 450 feet (137 meters) from where Trump would later stand, the Secret Service official told The Washington Post.
Federal authorities have launched a growing investigation into Saturday’s rally shooting, which left Trump wounded, one rallygoer dead and two others seriously injured. It is being considered the most serious security lapse by the Secret Service since the attempted assassination of then-President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
The FBI is leading the criminal investigation, Congress plans to hold hearings, and President Biden has called for an independent investigation into the shooting and the security situation. In addition, the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has announced that he is investigating the Secret Service’s actions before and during the attempted assassination.
Officials from the Secret Service, the Justice Department and the FBI will provide the Senate with an update on the incident Wednesday afternoon, according to the office of Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). A briefing for House members will follow.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) on Wednesday issued a subpoena to U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, demanding her testimony at a hearing next week, according to a copy of the subpoena provided to The Post. U.S. Secret Service officials initially indicated that Cheatle had committed to appear before the Oversight Committee. But in a letter accompanying the subpoena, Comer alleged that DHS officials “appear to have intervened,” casting doubt on Cheatle’s attendance.
“The lack of transparency and failure to cooperate with the Committee on this urgent matter by both DHS and the Secret Service raises further questions about your ability to lead the Secret Service and makes necessary the attached subpoena compelling you to appear before the Oversight Committee,” the letter said.
Cheatle, in an interview with ABC News, took responsibility for the security lapses that led to the shooting. But the first attack on a U.S. leader under the agency’s protection since the 1981 shooting that wounded Reagan has raised broad questions about the elite protection agency’s planning, strategy and response to the attack.
Crooks climbed onto the roof of the Agr International building and fired shots at the former president before a Secret Service sniper shot him dead. The Post reported that local police snipers were inside the building complex when the gunman opened fire, and that bystanders at the rally alerted local police that they had seen a man climbing onto the roof.
The Secret Service was responsible for the overall security plan, but Cheatle said in an interview that the agency relied on local law enforcement in areas outside the security perimeter, including the building where the shooter was. She also said they made the decision to keep agents off the sloped roof because the slope posed a security problem.
“The decision was made to secure the building from the inside,” Cheatle said.
According to The Post, Secret Service sniper teams were initially unable to see the shooter as he climbed the roof, due to the sloped sides of the roof and surrounding trees.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
Jacqueline Alemany, Devlin Barrett, Shawn Boburg, Lisa Rein, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Aaron Schaffer, Perry Stein, and Jon Swaine contributed to this report.