PA - Assassination attempt, shooting injures former POTUS Donald Trump, leaves 1 spectator deceased two in critical condition, 13 July 2024 #5

[RANCH]

I am going to have to agree to disagree. As we do not know if she was alone at her post. And we do not know who else knew about her break, said (perhaps) "okay, go now". We only know that the site supervisor was not aware.
In other words, perhaps her fellow co-workers were aware.

imo

Any coworkers who may have been complicit in the agents failure should also be investigated and punished accordingly. JMO.

 

[shotgun09]

One would think that after the fiasco of the SS failures on July 13, admitted to by the top Officer and having resigned in disgrace, that the new Director along with all staff would have been on their toes to perform the job expertly. They have been under the microscope for cryin out loud. Instead, we get SS staff breaking and entering, and another leaving her post to breast feed a baby and entertain family. All, while the VP of the US was your protectee. Make it make sense !!

 

[RANCH]

I am going to have to agree to disagree. As we do not know if she was alone at her post. And we do not know who else knew about her break, said (perhaps) "okay, go now". We only know that the site supervisor was not aware.
In other words, perhaps her fellow co-workers were aware.

imo

DBM

 

[Seattle1]

Any coworkers who may have been complicit in the agents failure should also be investigated and punished accordingly. JMO.

Absolutely... It's not like she was the night clerk at the Hilton! These are federal agents on protective assignment. I'm wondering who's running the Atlanta Office where the agent in question was from?

 

[Seattle1]

United States Secret Service

PROTECTION

• Protecting Leaders
• Safeguarding Places
• Securing Events
• National Threat Assessment

Protecting Leaders

We engage in round-the-clock protective operations on a global scale to ensure the safety of top U.S. and visiting foreign national leadership.

www.secretservice.gov

The Job of a Special Agent

www.secretservice.gov

 

[Betty P]

Local SWAT team blames Trump assassination attempt on lack of planning, communication

Members of the local SWAT team on duty at the Butler Trump rally told ABC News that a lack of planning and communication resulted in the failure to protect Donald Trump.

abcnews.go.com

The sniper and his fellow Beaver County SWAT officers were assigned to Trump's Butler campaign rally, and tasked with supporting the Secret Service and other law enforcement in the mission to keep the event and Secret Service protectee, safe.
Rbm.
They (local LEO's) were not running the show, so to speak.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/10/politics/snipers-detail-breakdowns-trump-assassination-attempt-invs/index.html

“Could it have been avoided? Absolutely,” said Det. Pat Young, commander of the Beaver County SWAT team and Nicol’s boss. “And should it have been avoided? Yeah, absolutely.”
A Butler sniper leader who met Nicol and his partners at the AGR building told them their mission was to look out those windows and scan the area for threats, Nicol said
Over the next 13 minutes, Nicol attempted to pass his concerns up the chain of command.
The state trooper then conveyed the information to Secret Service agents also in the command post at approximately 5:44 p.m.

The secret service were notified.
They did nothing.
There was time to act.

The burden of blame is more on them than anyone else; their job is to neutralize threats.

Some good maps at the Cnn link.

All of this happened in an area that wasn't overly large for the secret service to handle.

Secret Service blames local police, says they were tasked with securing properties surrounding Trump’s Pa. rally

BUTLER, Pa. — The Secret Service blamed local police for failing to secure the rooftop from which gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump, insistin…

nypost.com

Pennsylvania police confirmed they assisted the Secret Service and regularly do so when high-profile government officials come to town, but that the federal agency ultimately runs the show.
Attendees reported seeing 20-year-old Thomas Crooks acting suspiciously near rally metal detectors, according to CNN, with local law enforcement being notified and broadcasting warnings over their radios to the Secret Service to be on the lookout for him.

Included is a photo of a gate at the edge of the rally.
Good work in securing that gate, secret service !
Even if they weren't the ones who used zip ties, they should have noticed it wasn't secured.
A good pair of Fiskars could cut the ties quickly.
Wire or bolt cutters would get that chain undone.
After that, a truck could easily have been driven through the fence.
Smh.

View attachment 525049
Omo.

Junky facilities in poor repair. Never should have been approved for an outdoor rally. The SS should have refused and made them change to a better venue.

<modsnip>

 

[Chimera]

Absolutely a change of venue. Not saying it still couldn't be held outdoors.
The question is : WHY was this poorly-secured place allowed to proceed ???
Omo.

 

[steeltowngirl]

CNN —
Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has been assigned a security detail amid continued threats, including in-person confrontations and threats posted online, a law enforcement source told CNN.

Several other Secret Service agents have received threats following the near-assassination last month of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to another source familiar with the matter. While those threats are being monitored, it’s unclear what other security measures have been taken.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/16/politics/former-secret-service-director-assigned-security-amid-threats/index.html

 

[Sundog]

Junky facilities in poor repair. Never should have been approved for an outdoor rally. The SS should have refused and made them change to a better venue.

<modsnip>

The Farm Show grounds in Butler County are not "junky facilities," the site is home to the annual Farm Show that has been operating at the site for 76 years. The Board of the Farm Show rented the site to the Trump campaign who brought in their own stage, grandstands, etc. and it was SS or LE or both that put up the fences and secured them (or didn't secure them). And the Farm Show lost some rentals during the two weeks after the rally due to the FBI closing the site for their investigation.

I think it is unfair to call the Butler Farm Show site "junky" given that the site that was provided was just the fields and LE, SS, and the campaign are the entities that put up the staging, fencing, etc. If it was "junky," then it's on the Secret Service who was responsible for the security setup.

Site of Trump rally shooting unrecognizable for 76th annual Butler Farm Show

Dairy cows, tractors, a watermelon-eating contest, the “World’s Largest Demolition Derby” and more overtake the site

www.post-gazette.com

 

[RANCH]

Junky facilities in poor repair. Never should have been approved for an outdoor rally. The SS should have refused and made them change to a better venue.

<modsnip>

I'm not sure if the Secret Service is up to the job of analyzing and approving campaign locations after their recent failures have come to light.

I have a feeling that some local PD's could do a better job at providing security for these events. JMO.

 

[Sundog]

Absolutely a change of venue. Not saying it still couldn't be held outdoors.
The question is : WHY was this poorly-secured place allowed to proceed ???
Omo.

Exactly, the problem wasn't the venue itself, but that the venue was poorly secured.

 

[Chimera]

The Farm Show grounds in Butler County are not "junky facilities," the site is home to the annual Farm Show that has been operating at the site for 76 years. The Board of the Farm Show rented the site to the Trump campaign who brought in their own stage, grandstands, etc. and it was SS or LE or both that put up the fences and secured them (or didn't secure them). And the Farm Show lost some rentals during the two weeks after the rally due to the FBI closing the site for their investigation.

I think it is unfair to call the Butler Farm Show site "junky" given that the site that was provided was just the fields and LE, SS, and the campaign are the entities that put up the staging, fencing, etc. If it was "junky," then it's on the Secret Service who was responsible for the security setup.

Site of Trump rally shooting unrecognizable for 76th annual Butler Farm Show

Dairy cows, tractors, a watermelon-eating contest, the “World’s Largest Demolition Derby” and more overtake the site

www.post-gazette.com

Thanks for clarifying.
The closeness of the buildings that weren't secured makes me cringe.
Omo.

 

[Betty P]

Absolutely a change of venue. Not saying it still couldn't be held outdoors.
The question is : WHY was this poorly-secured place allowed to proceed ???
Omo.

10 or 20 years ago, candidates could get by with having outdoor rallies in crazy places like shopping plazas and parking lots in bad neighborhoods, but things have changed a lot in that time. It's no longer safe. Then again, those kind of outdoor events were usually much smaller and easier to manage.

This was the last large outdoor rally I attended. It was at night and the crowd stretched for about 3 city blocks. It would be much harder to do today.

Kerry Campaign Rally

In one of his final campaign stops on the eve of the Presidential election, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) spoke to supporters about his foreign and domestic policy agenda, voter mobilization, and the need for a change in administrations. Prior to his remarks, popular musician Bruce Springsteen...

www.c-span.org

 

[Mica]

Apologies if this has already been posted.

Trump rally shooting: local Swat officer fired first shot knocking gunman down​

Sat 17 Aug 2024 10.24 EDT

[…]

The first shot back at the would-be assassin who was firing at Donald Trump last month was from local law enforcement and hit the gunman’s weapon, briefly knocking him down, a preliminary report from the US Congress has revealed.

The gunman was wounded by fragments flying from the damaged weapon and then, as he got back up, he was killed by a federal sniper, the report found.

[…]

“The 9th shot fired on J13 was from a Butler SWAT operator from the ground about 100 yards away from the AGR building [where the gunman was positioned]. Shot 9 hit Crooks’ rifle stock and fragged his face/neck/right shoulder area from the stock breaking up,” Higgins’s report said.

The special weapons and tactics (Swat) officer’s bullet delayed the gunman, and Higgins said he was almost certain it damaged the aggressor’s assault rifle, rendering it incapable of firing further shots.

“The Swat operator who took this shot was a total badass; when he had sighted the shooter Crooks as a mostly obscured by foliage moving target on the AGR rooftop, he immediately left his assigned post and ran towards the threat, running to a clear shot position directly into the line of fire while Crooks was firing 8 rounds,” Higgins’s report said, adding that, on his own, the officer took “a very hard shot, one shot”.

However, the officer said that Crooks recovered after just a few seconds, and “popped back up”.

At that point, a Secret Service sniper fired the “10th (and, I believe, final) shot”, hitting the gunman in the head and killing him, Higgins’s report said.

[…]

Trump rally shooting: local Swat officer fired first shot knocking gunman down

Congress report says shot hit would-be assassin’s weapon, wounding him before he was killed by Secret Service sniper

www.theguardian.com

​

 

[LadyL]

Apologies if this has already been posted.

Trump rally shooting: local Swat officer fired first shot knocking gunman down​

Sat 17 Aug 2024 10.24 EDT

[…]

The first shot back at the would-be assassin who was firing at Donald Trump last month was from local law enforcement and hit the gunman’s weapon, briefly knocking him down, a preliminary report from the US Congress has revealed.

The gunman was wounded by fragments flying from the damaged weapon and then, as he got back up, he was killed by a federal sniper, the report found.

[…]

“The 9th shot fired on J13 was from a Butler SWAT operator from the ground about 100 yards away from the AGR building [where the gunman was positioned]. Shot 9 hit Crooks’ rifle stock and fragged his face/neck/right shoulder area from the stock breaking up,” Higgins’s report said.

The special weapons and tactics (Swat) officer’s bullet delayed the gunman, and Higgins said he was almost certain it damaged the aggressor’s assault rifle, rendering it incapable of firing further shots.

“The Swat operator who took this shot was a total badass; when he had sighted the shooter Crooks as a mostly obscured by foliage moving target on the AGR rooftop, he immediately left his assigned post and ran towards the threat, running to a clear shot position directly into the line of fire while Crooks was firing 8 rounds,” Higgins’s report said, adding that, on his own, the officer took “a very hard shot, one shot”.

However, the officer said that Crooks recovered after just a few seconds, and “popped back up”.

At that point, a Secret Service sniper fired the “10th (and, I believe, final) shot”, hitting the gunman in the head and killing him, Higgins’s report said.

[…]

Trump rally shooting: local Swat officer fired first shot knocking gunman down

Congress report says shot hit would-be assassin’s weapon, wounding him before he was killed by Secret Service sniper

www.theguardian.com

​

knocking him down? he's shown on video to be laying down ... or do they mean knocked his head down after it 'popped back up'?
and if his gun stock 'broke up' from the first shot, why would he 'pop back up' with no viable gun? wouldn't he stay down to avoid being shot? or was that his suicide mission?

this article has me confused

 

[Seattle1]

The first shot back at the would-be assassin who was firing at Donald Trump last month was from local law enforcement and hit the gunman’s weapon, briefly knocking him down, a preliminary report from the US Congress has revealed.

The gunman was wounded by fragments flying from the damaged weapon and then, as he got back up, he was killed by a federal sniper, the report found.

Interesting. I only knew of TC to be on his belly aiming his rifle but this was prior to any shots fired. If he somehow raised himself or was on his feet to where his gun was struck by the bullet of a local, I'm thinking this might have been about the time the Officer who was first boosted to the roof made eye contact with TC, and dropped to the ground about 8 feet beneath him. I did hear from DT that the threat was eliminated when the federal sniper struck TC within 5 seconds of TC firing his weapon. He also said the sniper had 23 years service with the feds. MOO

 

[Mica]

Interesting. I only knew of TC to be on his belly aiming his rifle but this was prior to any shots fired. If he somehow raised himself or was on his feet to where his gun was struck by the bullet of a local, I'm thinking this might have been about the time the Officer who was first boosted to the roof made eye contact with TC, and dropped to the ground about 8 feet beneath him. I did hear from DT that the threat was eliminated when the federal sniper struck TC within 5 seconds of TC firing his weapon. He also said the sniper had 23 years service with the feds. MOO

From Congressman Clay Higgins’ Report:

https://clayhiggins.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Preliminary-Investigative-Report-8.12.24.pdf

 

[Chimera]

Trump shooter walking around rally before assassination attempt

Donald Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was spotted wandering through merch stalls less than two hours before he wounded the ex-president.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The shooter's movements were meticulously tracked since the shooting to determine what went wrong, but new video throws the timeline into question.
The video showed Crooks in the same grey t-shirt, made by the Demolition Ranch firearms influencer page, and white shorts as he had when he was killed.

However, he had none of the gear he brought to the Butler Farm Show grounds, including the backpack that was found later.

At this time, & based on what little we know... I'd assume his gear was in his same van that had the explosives ?
Omo.

 

[Seattle1]

Trump shooter walking around rally before assassination attempt

Donald Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was spotted wandering through merch stalls less than two hours before he wounded the ex-president.

www.dailymail.co.uk

The shooter's movements were meticulously tracked since the shooting to determine what went wrong, but new video throws the timeline into question.
The video showed Crooks in the same grey t-shirt, made by the Demolition Ranch firearms influencer page, and white shorts as he had when he was killed.

However, he had none of the gear he brought to the Butler Farm Show grounds, including the backpack that was found later.

At this time, & based on what little we know... I'd assume his gear was in his same van that had the explosives ?
Omo.

Seems to me the subject 'gear' carried on to the grounds was all contained in the shooter's backpack which was recovered on the rooftop not far from his body. (I saw the backpack photographed with the body and recommend caution when it comes to details by DM).

Reportedly, this would have include the rifle, a remote, range finder, cell phone. I don't recall he was seen with anything else when walking the grounds. Also, I think the bike was early speculation.

I believe his excess ammo was located inside his Hyundai, that like a Van allegedly connected to TC, wasn't discovered until later-- long after the shooting. MOO

ETA: add link 7/18/24

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-gunman-thomas-crooks-leaves-behind-pile-mysteries-2024-07-18/

Crooks appeared to spend at least some time preparing for the Trump event. He bought ammunition on the day of the rally, stopping at a gun store in his hometown of Bethel Park to pick up 50 rounds, according to a joint bulletin issued this week by the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is leading the investigation.

He built three homemade bombs – two found in his car and another in his home, according to the bulletin, which was reviewed by Reuters. In the preceding months, the bulletin noted, Crooks had received “multiple packages, including some marked as possibly containing hazardous material.”

 

[Betty P]

knocking him down? he's shown on video to be laying down ... or do they mean knocked his head down after it 'popped back up'?
and if his gun stock 'broke up' from the first shot, why would he 'pop back up' with no viable gun? wouldn't he stay down to avoid being shot? or was that his suicide mission?

this article has me confused

I'm waiting until the full investigation is complete, when all the witness statements are analyzed and matched with video, audio and other evidence.