A team of snipers was reportedly stationed inside the building where a gunman on the roof shot at Donald Trump on Saturday.
A source described as “familiar with the investigation” told CNN the group was part of the Butler County Emergency Services Unit and was sitting on the second floor of the manufacturing plant, some 150 yards from the stage where Trump was addressing the rally.
That places them just feet from the rooftop where Thomas Crooks fired the shots that not only wounded Trump’s ear at the Pennsylvania rally but also took the life of one attendee and injured two others.
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A spokesperson for the U.S. Secret Service on Monday said the federal agency also hadn’t conducted its own sweep of the building prior to the event, instead relying on local law enforcement to secure the site.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), whom Trump named as his vice-presidential pick two days after the shooting, has called for “a full-scale investigation” of the kind that is, in fact, being undertaken by the FBI, which said it is treating the incident as a potential act of domestic terrorism.
“We need to understand what happened,” Vance said, “because clearly, mistakes were made.”
The FBI has said early inquiries suggest Crooks acted alone, though a number of suspicious devices have already been recovered from the gunman’s home and vehicle, and efforts to establish “if there were any co-conspirators associated with this attack” remain ongoing.
President Joe Biden has also asked for an independent review of the national security measures at the rally, as the Secret Service continues to take a battering for its failings in the build-up to and aftermath of the incident.
Saturday’s shooting has sent shockwaves through the already fragmented and fractious U.S. political landscape ahead of the November presidential election.
Despite growing calls from across the political spectrum for a de-escalation of divisive rhetoric, Reps. Mike Collins (R-GA) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) have accused the Democratic Party of orchestrating a political hit against Trump.
Politico reported that the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have since issued “a rare joint intelligence bulletin” warning of the potential for “retaliatory acts of violence” in response to the assassination attempt.
On Monday night, Trump made his first public appearance since the shooting, attending the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee with his ear bandaged.
The former president appeared emotional as he arrived at the event, greeted by crowds chanting the word he had mouthed as he was rushed off the rally stage Saturday by the Secret Service: “Fight!”
