An FBI spokesman has said that there will be a “long investigation” into the circumstances of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump that took place on Saturday, leaving the former president with a head wound, injuring two other people and killing one.
“We’re still working through the security apparatus that the Secret Service had in place, what potentially happened” the spokesman said at a press conference.
“There’s going to be a long investigation into exactly what took place and how the individual was able to get access to the location, what type of weapon he had—all that is really days, weeks and months of investigation
“How was he able to get off four or five shots?” a reporter then asked.
“It is surprising. But again, all the details of that will come out in investigation.”
The FBI spokesman also fielded a question about the security assessments that were carried out, and made it totally clear in his response that the Secret Service was responsible for the security arrangements that were in place at the rally on the day of the attempted assassination.
“Again, the Secret Service really needs to answer that question. They conduct the initial site survey. They do the initial security assessments and determine where the different security locations should be, and they’re the ones who are in charge of securing the scene.”
He added that local law enforcement was there in a supporting role only.
There have already been claims that Secret Service agents and law enforcement on the scene ignored repeated warnings about a gunman on a roof minutes before the attempted assassination took place.
A local Trump supporter made the claims in an interview with BBC News.
The man was just outside the event with a group when they saw the would-be assassin crawling along a nearby roof armed with a rifle.
“We noticed a guy bear-crawling up the roof of the building beside us, 50 feet away from us. So we’re standing there, we’re pointing at the guy crawling up the roof… he had a rifle. We could clearly see him with a rifle, absolutely. And we’re pointing at him. The police are down there running around on the ground, and we’re like, ‘Hey, man, there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle!’ And the police were like, ‘Huh? What?’
“They didn’t know what was going on. We were like, ‘Hey right here on the roof. We can see him from right here. We see him. He’s crawling.’ And next thing you know, I’m thinking ‘Why is Trump still speaking? Why have they not pulled him off the stage?’ I’m standing there pointing at him [the gunman] for two or three minutes. Secret Service is looking at us from the top of the barn. I’m pointing at the roof, just standing there like this, and next thing you know, five shots ring out.”
The reporter interviewing the man pressed him to confirm that the shooter was visible for minutes before the attempted assassination.
The man confirmed: “At least three to four minutes.”
The man went on to explain that the view of the Secret Service agents was probably obscured, but then questioned why there weren’t agents on the roof where the shooter positioned himself.
“But why is there not Secret Service on all of these roofs here? This is not a big place.”
Trump's quick reaction to the shooting was the ultimate cognitive test! pic.twitter.com/cmO7FVGn3S
— Darrin McBreen (@MediaRival) July 14, 2024
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