ANALYSIS – PART THREE OF THREE PARTS – CONTINUED – In the first two parts of this series I provided a number of questions about the gunman who tried to kill former President Donald Trump, as well about the Secret Service and local police preparation and response. Here I provide some added questions and some answers as well.
To begin, despite earlier reports that Crooks was a member of his high school's rifle club, it has since been reported that Crooks tried out for but was rejected for being a “comically bad” shot, according to former classmates. Investigators also found a rudimentary explosive device in Crooks' car and a transmitter on his body, suggesting that he may have intended to stage a distraction during the shooting.
And now we have reports that Crooks was spotted at least twice by cops – 26 minutes before he fired on Trump and two others and killing an ex-fire chief, according to WPXI sources.
The Beaver County Emergency Services Unit – which traveled to the Butler County, Pennsylvania, Trump rally from the neighboring Pittsburgh suburb – noticed Cooks on the roof, took a picture of him and reported it around 5:45 pm, WPXI reported.
But it gets worse as Fox News reports, the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Trump on Saturday was identified as suspicious by law enforcement more than an hour before he opened fire, claimed Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) after a briefing between Senate lawmakers and the U.S. Secret Service. (RELATED: Secret Service Chief Chased By GOP Senators At RNC In Milwaukee)
Fox News added:
“He was identified as a character of suspicion because [he had] a rangefinder as well as a backpack. And this was over an hour before the shooting actually occurred,” Barrasso said. “So, you would think over the course of that hour, you shouldn't lose sight of the individual. Somebody ought to be following up on those sorts of things. No evidence of that happening at all.”
Fox News was told that the Secret Service was aware of the threat before Trump walked on stage and narrowly survived an assassination attempt.
A Secret Service agent in charge of security for the event was on the phone with local and state police about the threat while the shooting took place, Barrasso said.
Barrasso said there was no talk of reports that local officers engaged with the shooter before he opened fire.
This appears to be a case of massive miscommunication and lack of proper coordination between local cops and the Service.
We have since also learned that local law enforcement officials reportedly warned the Service before Trump's rally that they lacked the resources to station a patrol car outside of the building Crooks climbed on the roof and shot Trump and others in attendance.
To me, it's becoming increasingly clear this was a complicated failure involving multiple points of failure and at least nine different local, county and federal law enforcement divisions that were supposed to be working together but didn't. (RELATED: Outrage: Lawmakers React To New FBI Update On Assassination Attempt)
Meanwhile, we are gaining more insight into Crooks' preparations for his attack on Trump.
Crooks had two cellphones, which the FBI ultimately cracked. Sources had shared earlier that Crooks searched for images of Trump and President Biden ahead of the shooting. In addition to the images, Crooks did searches about Trump's appearances and dates, and about the Democratic National Convention.
Crooks also conducted searches online about major depression disorder.
Federal law enforcement briefers told lawmakers that the shooter visited the rally location twice after the Butler rally was announced, including on the day of the shooting. Based on cell phone data, it was estimated that the shooter was there for 70 minutes.
Witnesses and law enforcement officials say Crooks walked around for at least a half hour before climbing onto the roof of the building he fired from.
Law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation told CNN that in addition to the photos of Trump and Biden, the shooter's phone also contained pictures of congressional leaders, such as House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Sources briefed on the investigation told CNN that the phone also showed searches dating back to this spring, looking for the dates and locations of Trump rallies and for information on the two political conventions.
And for those claiming Crooks was a just a dumb high school graduate, after graduating from high school in 2022, Crooks went on to the Community College of Allegheny County, earning an associate's degree with honors in engineering science in May. (RELATED: New Photo Reveals Remote Detonator Near Deceased Trump Rally Shooter)
Finally, though his high school rifle team rejected Crooks for poor marksmanship, years back, through his family, he was a member of the Clairton Sportsmen's Club, a shooting range about 11 miles east of Bethel Park, where he appears to have spent a lot of time improving his shooting skills.
The club has an outdoor rifle range with targets set at distances of up to 187 yards.
The day before the shooting, Crooks went to the gun club and practiced on the rifle range.
So, there are a lot of unanswered questions, contradictory accounts and suspicious actions. But does that mean there's some sort of conspiracy, or sheer systemic failure and stupidity at play? Hopefully things will become clearer soon.
END OF THREE-PART SERIES
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
READ NEXT: Iconic Congresswoman Dies, Family Announces Heartbreaking News
the attempt was made by the dopes and just like everything else they touch they screwed it up ( thank god ) so now they change candidates like it made a difference, just o blow me’s 4 term
It appears that the “Agency in charge” of event seuirity, is only vaguely aware of, or simply ignored, the proven methodology of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Certainly some of what is SOP for NIMS would be applicable and useful and tailored for the security manpower available. Some of the basic, key operational elements of NIMS are: A designated On-scene Commander (one person and organization in charge), a common interoperable communications system and nomenclature (including a designated guard frequency), a central command post that facilitates interagency coordination, and etc. For information on NIMS see https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/nims