Local law enforcement had reportedly stationed three snipers inside the building whose roof was used by the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, highlighting the potential security lapses that led to the former president getting injured and the death of one person.
Law enforcement had reportedly stationed three snipers inside the building whose roof was used by ... [+]
Three police snipers were stationed inside the building and were tasked with looking out of the window at the rally, CBS News and local outlet Beaver Countian reported, citing local law enforcement sources.
One of the law enforcement officers stationed in the building saw the gunman “scoping out” the roof and carrying a range finder, before briefly disappearing from the site and returning with a backpack, the reports said.
The officer managed to take a photograph of the shooter and even radioed the sightings to his command center, but the suspected shooter—20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks—was reportedly able to scale the roof through an air conditioning unit.
Local law enforcement officials cited by the reports blamed a lack of manpower—which prevented them from placing a sniper on the roof or providing the snipers on the ground with spotters—for their failure to stop Crooks, along with “extremely poor planning.”
According to local TV station WPXI, officers on the ground first spotted Crooks nearly 30 minutes before he fired at Trump and the rally-goers.
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