The Secret Service counter-snipers and personnel guarding former President Donald Trump on July 13 were both unaware that a man on the rooftop of a nearby building had a gun, the agency’s top official said on Tuesday.
“Neither the Secret Service counter-sniper teams, nor members of the former president’s security detail, had any knowledge that there was a man on the roof of the AGR building with a firearm,” Ronald Rowe Jr., the Secret Service’s acting director, told senators on Capitol Hill in Washington.
“It is my understanding that those personnel were not aware the assailant had a firearm until they heard gunshots,” he added. “Prior to that, they were operating with the knowledge that local law enforcement was working an issue of a suspicious individual prior to the shots being fired.”
Thomas Crooks, 20, climbed onto the rooftop of the AGR building in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 as the former president was speaking, according to authorities. Mr. Crooks allegedly fired multiple shots from a rifle starting at 6:11 p.m. He hit four people, including the former president. Former President Trump and two others survived, but the other individual, firefighter Corey Comperatore, died.
After Mr. Crooks pointed his rifle at the officer, the officer dropped to the ground, officials say.
“I know that local law enforcement was attempting to locate him,” Mr. Rowe said, after Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) wondered why Secret Service personnel did not take action once Mr. Crooks was seen with a rangefinder.
Paul Abbate, the FBI’s deputy director, told the hearing on Tuesday that Mr. Crooks likely carried the rifle in a backpack. He said it was possible the shooter “took it out of the bag on the roof in those moments before and reassembled it there.”
Once Mr. Crooks fired his weapon, a Secret Service counter-sniper took him out within seconds, Mr. Rowe said. The counter-sniper had full discretion to respond to the attack and did not need authorization to fire, according to Mr. Rowe.
The acting director said he was proud of Secret Service agents’ dedication while vowing to hold personnel accountable if an internal investigation finds failures. He said that some personnel may be fired.
Mr. Rowe was testifying for the first time since being named acting director in the wake of the resignation of Kimberly Cheatle, who was director when the rally took place.
