Former President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, included Secret Service snipers who carried out a counter-sniper mission, neutralizing the danger from the shooter who had started firing on the former president.
Attached to the scope of one sniper’s rifle was a white card with diagrams and numbers.
This card detailed the precise calculations required for a sniper’s rifle in relation to different points, in this instance, the faraway buildings on the Butler Farm Show property, from which Crooks fired.
Images of the Secret Service snipers showed them armed with powerful, long-range rifles, perhaps chambering .300 or .338 bullets, the standard issue for skilled military snipers. Google Maps indicates that the snipers were within about 200 yards of Crooks, making it an easy target for any skilled marksman.
Lots of people are wondering how the shooter got rooftop access around 150 meters from where the former president was standing at the outdoor rally platform.
The rounds were being fired from the direction of Trump’s right side, namely from the “three o’clock” position of his platform. Notably, the gunman was found outside the security perimeter, which begs the question of how the shooter gained access to the roof, the extent to which the perimeter was swept and secured, and the size of the perimeter itself.
The USSS, Congress, and the Department of Homeland Security will conduct investigations into the security breach. The assassination attempt was foiled only after the sniper reeled off his shots, critically wounding two and killing one, in addition to inflicting a minor wound on the former president.
Anti-sniper snipers shot and killed Thomas Mathew Crooks, who was previously hopping “from roof to roof,” according to the witness.
The shooter allegedly had explosives in his home and vehicle, according to multiple law enforcement sources.
The Secret Service strictly prohibits the possession of firearms inside “the ropes” and relies on the eyes of their snipers to take care of shooters outside “the perimeter.”
There was an apparent failure.
Investigations have begun.
