President Donald Trump escaped an assassination attempt that killed a bystander and wounded two others, but two weeks later numerous questions raised after days of testimony on Capitol Hill remain unanswered.
According to experts, the answers could lead them in a new direction with regards to this case.
Multiple witnesses testified, including Kimberly Cheatle, the former director of the U.S. Secret Service who resigned from her position shortly after testifying.
Between Philadelphia and its DCA destination, the would-be assassin broke away from law enforcement authorities and holed up on a rooftop overlooking Trump. According to the FBI, he later fired a round striking Trump in an ear and killing a man in the audience while critically wounding two others.
But, the question on everyone’s minds is, how exactly was the shooter able to get up to the rooftop?
“That question is the key,” said Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector who has been in the command center for other VIP events. “That’s where the investigation is going to ultimately sum up.”
If Crooks was indeed someone law enforcement considered suspicious before Trump even showed up, the communication represented a failure on that score as well, because it would have been known at least once she arrived.
Trump had just begun his speech as authorities were still actively looking for Crooks. Without having been caught by a local cop, if Crooks’ first shot had found Trump he might have died then and there Mauro noted. “If it got to that level, hold Trump for 20 minutes until you find him,” he added.
“That’s the elephant in the room,” said Michael Verden, a former Secret Service agent and the founder of the Lake Forest Group, a security firm. “What needs to be determined is why there was not a presence on that rooftop.”
During a walkthrough before the rally, Paris said state police raised concerns with Secret Service personnel after learning that an unnamed Butler County tactical team had been assigned to handle rooftop coverage.
As the FBI investigation on the assassination attempt continues, many citizens and politicians have publicly announced their disdain for the Secret Services failures.
