Officers left post seeking Trump rally gunman before shooting, state police boss says

The revelation comes amid growing questions about a multitude of security failures that allowed the 20-year-old gunman to get onto the roof and fire eight shots with an AR-style rifle into the crowd shortly after Trump began speaking. One spectator was killed and two others were injured. Trump suffered an ear injury but was not seriously hurt.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned earlier Tuesday, a day after she was berated for hours by Democrats and Republicans over the agency’s failure to protect the Republican presidential nominee. Cheatle told lawmakers on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Monday that the assassination attempt was the Secret Service’s “most significant operational failure” in decades.

The Homeland Security Committee also had asked Cheatle to testify but lawmakers said she refused. Cheatle’s name was on a card on a table in front of an empty chair during the hearing, which began shortly before her decision to step down became public.

Several investigations into the shooting by the Biden administration and lawmakers are underway. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday they are supporting a bipartisan task force to investigate the attempt on Trump’s life. The House could vote as soon as Wednesday to establish the task force, which will be comprised of seven Republicans and six Democrats.

Local law enforcement began to search for Crooks after they noticed him acting strangely and saw him with a rangefinder, a small device resembling binoculars that hunters use to measure distance from a target. Officers didn’t find him around the building and a local officer climbed up to the roof to investigate. The gunman turned and pointed his rifle at him. The officer did not — or could not — fire a single shot. Crooks opened fire toward the former president seconds later, officials have said.

Cheatle acknowledged that the Secret Service was told about a suspicious person two to five times before the shooting, but there was no indication at that time that he had a weapon. She also revealed that the roof from which Crooks opened fire had been identified as a potential vulnerability days before the rally. Cheatle said Trump would never have been brought onto the stage had Secret Service been aware there was an “actual threat,” but Crooks wasn’t deemed to be a “threat” until seconds before he began shooting.

Authorities have been hunting for clues into what motivated Crooks but have not found any ideological bent that could help explain his actions. Investigators who searched his phone found photos of Trump, President Joe Biden and other senior government officials. He also searched for the dates for the Democratic National Conventional as well as Trump’s appearances and searched for information about major depressive disorder.

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Lauer reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press reporters Michael R. Sisak in New York and Kevin Freking in Washington contributed.