The moment 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired former President of the United States, Donald Trump, emerged four months before the November 2024 presidential election.
Security experts have called the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump a “fundamental security failure”. Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, fired shots at Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, hitting him in the ear. Secret Service agents shot and killed Crooks.
According to Sky News, Trump’s campaign reported that he was “fine” after the incident, but one spectator was killed and two others injured. A former SWAT team commander, Steve Nottingham, said that pre-event research and real-time monitoring of potential shooting positions had broken down.
An eyewitness reported seeing a man with a rifle crawling up a roof near the event and trying to alert security. Retired ATF agent Jim Cavanaugh expressed surprise that the gunman was able to occupy a raised position within rifle range of the rally site.
Cavanaugh noted that high-powered rifles like AR-15s can hit targets 600 feet away, and Trump was only 444 feet from the rooftop where the shooter was found dead. He questioned how the Secret Service missed the shooter’s elevated position.
Pennsylvania state police speak on Trump’s assassination attempt
Pennsylvania State Police Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens defended the security efforts, saying it’s “incredibly difficult” to secure a public venue against a determined attacker. The incident has raised concerns about the effectiveness of security measures to protect politicians and public figures. The investigation into the assassination attempt is ongoing, with authorities working to determine the motive behind the attack.
