An assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024, has sparked multiple investigations and raised serious questions about security protocols. The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by Secret Service snipers after opening fire from a rooftop, resulting in Trump being grazed in the ear, one person killed, and two others critically wounded.Investigations have revealed significant security lapses leading up to the incident. The Secret Service had identified Crooks as suspicious up to an hour before the attack due to his possession of a rangefinder and backpack. However, they lost track of him for a crucial 19-minute period before the shooting occurred. Senator John Barrasso stated, ‘He was identified as suspicious an hour before the shooting. He had a scope and a backpack. The Secret Service lost track of him’.The Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general has launched an investigation into the Secret Service’s handling of security at the event. Additionally, President Joe Biden has ordered an independent review, and the FBI is investigating the case as potential domestic terrorism. The House Judiciary Committee plans to hold a hearing on July 24 into the FBI’s investigation.As the investigation continues, authorities are still unclear about Crooks’ motive. His phone contained images of Trump, President Joe Biden, and other politicians, as well as searches for dates and locations of Trump rallies and political conventions. The FBI has conducted over 200 interviews and reviewed 14,000 images but has not found any clear political or ideological information about the suspect.The incident has led to calls for the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson among those demanding accountability. As investigations proceed, the focus remains on understanding how such a security breach could occur and what measures can be implemented to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Key points
- An assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump occurred during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024.
- The Secret Service had identified the shooter as suspicious up to an hour before the attack but lost track of him for 19 minutes.
- Multiple investigations have been launched, including by the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, and House Judiciary Committee.
- The incident has led to calls for the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle.
Contradictions👾There are conflicting reports about the exact timing of when the Secret Service identified the shooter as suspicious, with some sources stating it was an hour before the attack, while others report it was 20 minutes or 10 minutes before the incident.
