PA - Assassination attempt, shooting injures former POTUS Donald Trump, leaves 1 spectator deceased two in critical condition, 13 July 2024 #2

[formerlyme]

Also good point re. the vehicle left at the gas station.

Sooo... TC WALKED to the rally, with rifle in hand ?
And no one stopped him or at least asked why he had a gun ?

Even if he concealed it prior to the rally -- they didn't find it during the security sweep ?
He'd have to have placed the weapon fairly close so he could grab it w/o being noticed.
None of these actions should have gone unnoticed.
I say 'should have'.
I'm assuming there was a security check beforehand, but tbh I question that, now.
Omo.

I thought he was seen near rally with a backpack? gun in backpack? And I think there was confusion of him being near the metal detectors but not actually screened?

 

[SpanishInquisition]

Bbm.

ITA.
ANY former U.S. president needs to have protection close to that of a current potus.
Protocols and laws already set in place may vary, so this is my opinion.
Imo.
Omo.

Yes, there's just so many people/organizations/countries that could hold a grudge and it can be somewhat random why exactly they're targeted. I look at the assassination of former Japanese PM Abe who was targeted merely as a backup target with someone who had a grievance against the Unification Church, which Abe was chosen as a backup since he was seen as the largest celebrity of that church...there's just an infinite number of reasons a former head of state can be targeted.

I think the Secret Service policy as it sounds so far is bad as it doesn't seem to take into account the resources and training of the local LE, like it's one thing putting the LAPD or NYPD out there to try and stop international actors, but it's a whole other thing when you're dealing with a small and relatively resource poor police organization, like the Butler Township Police who the Secret Service head seems to be blaming just seems ill-equipped for protecting heads of state in the immediate vicinity:
"The Butler Township Police Department is managed by Chief John Hays and consists of a lieutenant, four patrol sergeants, three detectives, twelve full time patrol officers, one part time dog law enforcement officer, and two full time clerical support staff."

Police Department - Butler Township

The Butler Township Police Department is managed by Chief John Hays and consists of a lieutenant, four patrol sergeants, two detectives, thirteen full time patrol officers, two part time dog law enforcement officers, and two full time clerical support staff.

butlertwp.org

The Secret Service at a minimum should have had a perimeter 200 yards in circumference they were responsible for and even then 200 yards doesn't sound like much given how many in regular non-special forces militaries are trained to hit targets further than that. A former head of state should receive enough protection from the Secret Service that they're safe from a disgruntled current or former grunt from plinking them at game hunting range...and not blame the Mayberry PD for inadequate protection.

 

[Elley Mae]

The FBI named Crooks in a statement early Sunday morning, identifying him as a resident of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania – about 35 miles south of Butler, where Trump was holding his rally.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/14/us/trump-shooting-thomas-matthew-crooks-intl-hnk/index.html

After being killed at the scene, Crooks didn’t have any identification on his body, so agents had to “run his DNA and get biometric confirmation,” Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office, said at a press conference Saturday night before the gunman was named.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/14/us/trump-shooting-thomas-matthew-crooks-intl-hnk/index.html

…

The FBI identified the 20-year-old Crooks as the suspected Trump rally shooter in the early hours of Sunday morning, and said the attack is being investigated as a case of possible domestic terrorism.

Law enforcement officials said they identified Crooks after his death using his DNA and biometric information.

Father Of Suspected Trump Gunman Was Profiled As Pro-Gun Voter By Trump Campaign: What We Know About Thomas Matthew Crooks

The former president was grazed by a bullet at his rally Saturday after a shooter opened fire, killing a bystander and wounding two others.

www.forbes.com

…

IBIA I Biometric Technologies I Face

www.ibia.org

 

[formerlyme]

Did he change his shirt? Or is this quality poor?

maybe a light jacket?

 

[Eli9]

Trump Shooting Live Updates: Local Police Fired on Gunman, Official Says

The revelation from the Butler County district attorney comes as investigators hunt for the gunman’s motive and scrutiny focuses on security breakdowns, with the F.B.I. and Secret Service set to brief members of Congress.

www.nytimes.com

Edward Natali, a Butler Township supervisor said in a social media post that officers from the township's police department, originally assigned to traffic patrol, responded to reports of a suspicious person outside the Trump rally on Saturday.
...
Natali, whose post matched an account initially given by the county sheriff, pushed back against assigning any blame for the shooting to the local police. The township was not responsible for securing the complex of buildings where the gunman fired from, “or any other location” around the rally, he wrote on Facebook. “There were seven officers all assigned to traffic detail. Period!”

 

[Justice101]

Also good point re. the vehicle left at the gas station.

Sooo... TC WALKED to the rally, with rifle in hand ?
And no one stopped him or at least asked why he had a gun ?

Even if he concealed it prior to the rally -- they didn't find it during the security sweep ?
He'd have to have placed the weapon fairly close so he could grab it w/o being noticed.
None of these actions should have gone unnoticed.
I say 'should have'.
I'm assuming there was a security check beforehand, but tbh I question that, now.
Omo.

I am thinking he was there way early and may have been able to stash it near the back side of those buildings.

Just a guess.

Do we know which direction his car was found versus the Butler Farm venue?

 

[fred&edna]

I wonder how TMC planned to use the detonator found at his home? Curious if it was in working order. Was it a "back-up" for the one found on him, OR are there explosives elsewhere?

If the US SS can't coordinate coverage of a few rooftops in rural Butler Co PA... how could anyone find them capable? None of the explanations from SS nor LE make any sense at all. All we have are excuses.

jmo

 

[Izzylizzy]

Hmm.
11pm ?
At Thomas' age, I'm surprised the dad called so quickly.
Wouldn't he think TC had just gone over to a friends' house and forgot to call, or was ignoring his dad's calls ?
Omo.

By 11 pm everyone knew about the attempt on the president's life not too far from where he (the father) lived, one spectator had been killed and others critically injured and the shooter used a rifle described as the same kind that his son had in his possession.
IIRC: The AR15 style rifle used by the shooter was known to the public by then,11pm.

 

[Cool Cats]

I thought he was seen near rally with a backpack? gun in backpack? And I think there was confusion of him being near the metal detectors but not actually screened?

Good question but he must not have gone far enough to hit a metal detector....he would never have made it through.

Attendees at Trump’s rally Saturday walked through metal detectors, were prohibited from bringing weapons​

Those who have gone to rallies for former President Donald Trump in the past said that security measures mirrored other rallies they had attended.

Attendees at Trump’s rally Saturday walked through metal detectors, were prohibited from bringing weapons

Those who have gone to rallies for former President Donald Trump in the past said that security measures mirrored other rallies they had attended.

www.inquirer.com

To get into the rally, Paulson said, there was a long line to go into tents where security would check bags. There were also about 10 metal detectors and after walking through one, security used additional handheld metal detectors. He also noted that there was a large police presence.

 

[MoominMama222]

If that was the case, then the father would have been in Butler at the rally. It was only about a 90 minute drive from their home. And even if for some reason he couldn't attend the rally, he would have been watching it on tv or online and known that his son was the assassin long before 11 p.m. when he called LE to report his son was missing.

True!! There goes my theory.

 

[MassGuy]

Reposting this from last night as there seems to be some confusion:

By 3 p.m. on Saturday, Thomas Matthew Crooks was at the security screening area for the Trump rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania. He first aroused suspicion when he passed through the magnetometers carrying a rangefinder, which looks similar to a small pair of binoculars and is used by hunters and target shooters to measure distances when setting up a long-range shot, according to a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

The rangefinder would not have prevented Crooks from getting through the security screening point, but it did attract the attention of security personnel who kept an eye on him until he left the secure area.

-Investigators are unsure of where Crooks went after he left the screening area but the working theory is that he went to his car to retrieve the rifle.

-Crooks gained access to that rooftop by climbing on top of the building’s air conditioning system and hoisting himself up, according to a senior federal law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

-Additionally, after a search of his residence, investigators discovered another bulletproof vest, another remote-controlled explosive device and a 3D printer, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-assassination-shot-07-16-24/index.html

 

[Friday Fan]

maybe a light jacket?

It was hot. Some people were having trouble with heat, while they were waiting.

 

[sds71]

NEWS — Senate briefing on Trump rally shooting just concluded. Top lines, per 2 senators on the call:—The shooter visited the rally site a few days in advance to scope it out—62 mins elapsed between the time the shooter was photographed as being suspicious and when he fired the shots—20 mins elapsed between the time he was spotted by snipers & when he fired the shots—FBI Director Wray said there’s no known foreign nexus but no established motive as of now. Shooter used encrypted comms and had little to no social media presence

https://twitter.com/x/status/1813666840671085036

 

[shotgun09]

Is it just me?
This whole "story" being regurgitated via MSM as well as Social Media has me doubting like Thomas.

A 20 year old assassin with zero social media footprints? Who brings in a ladder, a backpack, a range finder, an AR15 to the rally, and climbs the very same roof where sharp shooters are staging...inside? The same suspect was 'seen' and being 'watched'.....but yet Secret Services does nothing? They don't remove Trump from the stage?

This goes well beyond incompetence and negligence to me.
I sense something far worse.
MOO

 

[formerlyme]

Is it just me?
This whole "story" being regurgitated via MSM as well as Social Media has me doubting like Thomas.

A 20 year old assassin with zero social media footprints? Who brings in a ladder, a backpack, a range finder, an AR15 to the rally, and climbs the very same roof where sharp shooters are staging...inside? The same suspect was 'seen' and being 'watched'.....but yet Secret Services does nothing? They don't remove Trump from the stage?

This goes well beyond incompetence and negligence to me.
I sense something far worse.
MOO

quick question I saw where they found a receipt for the ladder but were they able to see he brought a ladder in? maybe he dropped the ladder the few days before?

 

[MassGuy]

NEWS — Senate briefing on Trump rally shooting just concluded. Top lines, per 2 senators on the call:—The shooter visited the rally site a few days in advance to scope it out—62 mins elapsed between the time the shooter was photographed as being suspicious and when he fired the shots—20 mins elapsed between the time he was spotted by snipers & when he fired the shots—FBI Director Wray said there’s no known foreign nexus but no established motive as of now. Shooter used encrypted comms and had little to no social media presence

https://twitter.com/x/status/1813666840671085036

I figured he had scoped it out based on that ladder purchase. They probably got the location data from his phone.

Looks like he really did pull a Paddock with the encryption and lack of a digital trail. They should have found something by now…

 

[Knox]

Reposting this from last night as there seems to be some confusion:

By 3 p.m. on Saturday, Thomas Matthew Crooks was at the security screening area for the Trump rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania. He first aroused suspicion when he passed through the magnetometers carrying a rangefinder, which looks similar to a small pair of binoculars and is used by hunters and target shooters to measure distances when setting up a long-range shot, according to a senior law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

The rangefinder would not have prevented Crooks from getting through the security screening point, but it did attract the attention of security personnel who kept an eye on him until he left the secure area.

-Investigators are unsure of where Crooks went after he left the screening area but the working theory is that he went to his car to retrieve the rifle.

-Crooks gained access to that rooftop by climbing on top of the building’s air conditioning system and hoisting himself up, according to a senior federal law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

-Additionally, after a search of his residence, investigators discovered another bulletproof vest, another remote-controlled explosive device and a 3D printer, according to multiple law enforcement sources.

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-assassination-shot-07-16-24/index.html

Thanks for reposting this, wish we could make it a sticky. These facts are important.

I’m questioning his smarts though in having the range finder on his person passing through the magnetometers. I realize they have alternative uses, but I’ll bet no one else tried to pass through security with one in their pocket that day.

In hindsight there were so many failures along the way, hopefully this will be the impetus for meaningful changes going forward.

 

[MassGuy]

Thanks for reposting this, wish we could make it a sticky. These facts are important.

I’m questioning his smarts though in having the range finder on his person passing through the magnetometers. I realize they have alternative uses, but I’ll bet no one else tried to pass through security with one in their pocket that day.

In hindsight there were so many failures along the way, hopefully this will be the impetus for meaningful changes going forward.

Yeah that was stupid, as it immediately put him on their radar. Unfortunately, they dropped it once he left that secure area, and it doesn’t look like they passed it on to the county authorities, who seem to have had independent concerns regarding him.

Just a complete breakdown in communication all the way around.

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1813649647631524342

 

[Cool Cats]

quick question I saw where they found a receipt for the ladder but were they able to see he brought a ladder in? maybe he dropped the ladder the few days before?

Yes, there is the possibility he hid something the day before.

I figured he had scoped it out based on that ladder purchase. They probably got the location data from his phone.

Looks like he really did pull a Paddock with the encryption and lack of a digital trail. They should have found something by now…

I think you are likely to be right, in that he took the ladder over there to scope out the area but of course couldn't bring it on rally day.