Local law enforcement teams in Pennsylvania were supposed to keep watch over the building where a gunman took aim Saturday and tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
Counter-snipers from a local police department were assigned to cover the building that was over 400 feet away from Mr. Trump’s campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds, according to a source who spoke with CNN.
The source said local police’s responsibilities for that building were laid out in the operational plan.
“Pennsylvania State Police was not responsible for that area,” a spokesperson for the state police told the network.
The Washington Times has reached out to Butler Township Police for comment.
Butler County Sheriff Michael T. Slupe confirmed a report Sunday that a local police officer confronted the suspect moments before shots rang out.
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Sheriff Slupe told CNN that Butler Township police were called to investigate a man on a roof. None of the calls mentioned the man had a gun.
Police saw the suspect on the roof, and one of the officers helped hoist the other officer up so he could get a look at the man.
The sheriff said the gunman spotted the officer looking over the edge of the roof, so the suspect then swung his rifle around and aimed it at the officer.
That’s when the officer let go of the ledge to “take cover,” Sheriff Slupe said.
Shots rang out seconds later, leaving Mr. Trump with a graze wound to his ear. He was released from a hospital late Saturday night.
Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old former fire chief, was killed in the shooting. Two other men were critically wounded but are expected to survive.
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Secret Service agents shot and killed suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks shortly after the former president and others were wounded.
The federal agency’s ability to protect the Republican frontrunner has come under fire following the shooting.
Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger called the security lapses “embarrassing,” while some critics said Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s commitment to hiring more nonwhite, nonmale agents is putting the officials protected by the agency in danger.
Reporter Susan Crabtree from RealClearPolitics reported that the Secret Service pulled agents away from Mr. Trump’s detail to protect first lady Jill Biden.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi shot down the reporting in a social media response.
“Susan, this is very wrong. We did not divert resources from FPOTUS Trump & protection models don’t work that way,” Mr. Guglielmi said late Sunday. “As far as ’field office teams’ these are the candidate nominee operations teams that are added during election years for the heavy travel tempo.”
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.