As you’re all aware, there was an attempted assassination of former President Trump yesterday at a campaign rally in Butler PA. Here’s what we know so far.
The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, shot Trump from the roof of a building 130 yards from the podium. Trump was hit in the ear, Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old firefighter was killed and two others injured, though their identities have not been released at the time of this writing. Secret Service overwatch snipers shot and killed Crooks almost immediately after he opened fire.
Crooks resided in Bethel Park, a suburb of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, according to public records. Bethel Park borders Butler County, where Trump’s rally took place. Crooks had no identification on him at the time of the shooting, Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge of the FBI Pittsburgh office, said during a news conference early Sunday morning.
There is reporting that the FBI found explosives in the shooters vehicle. The FBI also searched the shooters home.
In a statement posted on Truth Social Saturday night, Trump said he “was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening.”
Those are the facts as we know them. Now on to a bit of analysis. As many of you know, this editor was involved in a fair bit of dignitary protection, both in the military and as a security contractor and I have some questions.
Let’s start here:
The shooter was positioned on a rooftop about 130 yards from the podium. Had I been in charge of the security detail, a raised vantage point like that roof would have had coverage, whether it was local law enforcement or Secret Service. It should have been within the security perimeter.
While we don’t know much about the shooter, we do know he did not have any military training and that’s a Good Thing. If he had, we’d be having a very different conversation right now. He attempted, and barely missed, a head shot. Had he shot center-mass Trump would likely be dead right now.
Then there’s this:
I would take that with a grain of salt, mainly because I haven’t seen any independent verification. However, given the state that guy is in, I tend to look at it in a favorable light. If, and it’s a big if, what he says is true, there are going to be major repercussions for any and all agencies involved.
I’m seeing calls for ‘investigations’ from all the major R players today. That isn’t good enough. For the first time since 1981, there has been an assassination attempt on a President. A congressional inquiry where some mid-level SS staffer gets thrown under the bus isn’t gonna cut it this time. If what I’m seeing about Mayorkas personally denying additional Secret Service assets for Trump are true, he needs to be put in prison.