Donald Trump Rally Shootings - Two Dead Trump Injured

[BFew]

It does make you wonder if there was an element of "eh, stuff it".

You mean Police on the ground just hoped that the counter snipers on the other roof top would take our Crooks, so they didn't have to try do it themselves.

Maybe they spent precious minutes and seconds arguing (amongst themselves and/or with the counter snipers or their commanders, about whose role it was to do what, or who was best positioned to take Crooks out).

 

[Awakening]

Did the shooter bring a ladder to climb up the roof or did the ladder just happen to be there.

Seeing mixed reports but hopefully someone smarter than me - like Bfew - can get to the bottom of it. Or should that be top of it?

 

[Proeagle]

Did the shooter bring a ladder to climb up the roof or did the ladder just happen to be there.

Seeing mixed reports but hopefully someone smarter than me - like Bfew - can get to the bottom of it. Or should that be top of it?

They said he bought a ladder. One witness saw him climbing a ladder. But one of the msm networks is now saying he climbed an airconditioner unit. So who knows. I guess saying an air con unit sounds a lot better than a dude carrying a ladder and rifle.

 

[Awakening]

They said he bought a ladder. One witness saw him climbing a ladder. But one of the msm networks is now saying he climbed an airconditioner unit. So who knows. I guess saying an air con unit sounds a lot better than a dude carrying a ladder and rifle.

I was thinking surely a guy carrying a ladder would stand out.

 

[BFew]

the SS contingent was grossly understaffed

If that is the case, surely they can second some military at short notice in the interim for any understaffed events.
And have them direct report to the Secret Service event commanders.
Especially for Trump events, given the risks of the potential impact and consequences of anything happening to Trump (past and future President).

Maybe the hope from the incumbents with oversight of the Secret Service, was that actual and perceived inadequate security at Trump events might assist Trump NOT become President again.

 

[Lady O]

I was thinking surely a guy carrying a ladder would stand out.

A ladder and a rifle.

 

[BFew]

They said he bought a ladder. One witness saw him climbing a ladder. But one of the msm networks is now saying he climbed an airconditioner unit. So who knows. I guess saying an air con unit sounds a lot better than a dude carrying a ladder and rifle.

So why did Police climb on each others shoulders to get/look on the roof and not just take the same aircon unit path as the shooter?

One of the local Police should have just taken a bullet, which would have likely got Crooks shot before he could fire shoot into the Event area.

 

[BFew]

A ladder and a rifle.

How did Crooks even get anywhere near the venue with a rifle?
It's summer, and warm. So could not hide it under a coat.

 

[Proeagle]

I was thinking surely a guy carrying a ladder would stand out.

There is one picture online showing a ladder against the building.

 

[JackNah_8]

I think we can all agree the Head of the secret service has to resign

Im surprised she hasn't been forced to resign yet.

 

[Proeagle]

How did Crooks even get anywhere near the venue with a rifle?
It's summer, and warm. So could not hide it under a coat.

Can an AR-15 be broken down quickly into smaller pieces and put in a backpack? I have no idea. But witnesses saw him crawling up the roof with the rifle waving around as he crawled.

 

[BFew]

Can an AR-15 be broken down quickly into smaller pieces and put in a backpack? I have no idea. But witnesses saw him crawling up the roof with the rifle waving around as he crawled.

Even if it could be broken down, how/where did he reassemble it without being noticed?

 

[jason_recliner]

From what ive read, the SS contingent was grossly understaffed and the republicans asked for more but were denied by that female that runs it.

Your post says it all. Amiright?

 

[jason_recliner]

Im surprised she hasn't been forced to resign yet.

On what grounds?

 

[BFew]

For a young man who had just finished his teenage years, Crooks left a surprisingly limited record online. Three cyberintelligence analysts asked by The Wall Street Journal to search for Crooks’s online footprint found little. A chess profile, an account for online coding classes and a few gaming accounts were some of the only leads they could uncover. None discovered public social-media postings, photos, or obvious ties to peer groups or organizations.

Yet CBC news is reporting

Trump rally shooter identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20-year-old Pennsylvania man. Here's what we know so far.

Former President Trump was injured in a shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The FBI has identified the gunman as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

www.cbsnews.com

'Crooks did have a social media presence, the FBI officials said Sunday.'

 

[Proeagle]

Even if it could be broken down, how/where did he reassemble it without being noticed?

Hopefully we find out one day. They have said he was hard to see with the angle of the roof until he got higher up. With all agencies blaming the other, it might take a while to get the truth.

 

[BFew]

'A local police counter-sniper team was stationed inside the building where attempted assassin Thomas Crooks climbed on the roof and fired on Donald Trump, law enforcement sources told The Post.

A team of 3 snipers in that building.
Here's some of what they are reported to have did and seen.

And reports of lack of manpower + extremely poor planning to blame.

Three Snipers Were Inside Building Trump Rally Shooter Fired From, Reports Say

One of the local law enforcement snipers stationed inside the building reportedly spotted the shooter scoping out the building and radioed the sighting to his command center.

www.forbes.com

'Updated Jul 16, 2024, 06:21am EDT'

'Local law enforcement had reportedly stationed three snipers inside the building whose roof was used by the gunman
...
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.

Some officers arrived at the building after the police sniper raised the alarm, tried to climb onto the roof and reach Crooks, but by that point he had fired his shot and been killed by the Secret Service.
...'

 

[JackNah_8]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2024/07/15/business/blackrock-commercial-included-trump-shooter

 

[Kurve]

How fast they can do this now.

Federal investigators said the gunman was not carrying identification, so they analyzed his DNA to provide a biometric confirmation of his identity.

Trump rally shooter identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20-year-old Pennsylvania man. Here's what we know so far.

Former President Trump was injured in a shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The FBI has identified the gunman as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[BFew]

How fast they can do this now.

Federal investigators said the gunman was not carrying identification, so they analyzed his DNA to provide a biometric confirmation of his identity.

Trump rally shooter identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20-year-old Pennsylvania man. Here's what we know so far.

Former President Trump was injured in a shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The FBI has identified the gunman as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.

www.cbsnews.com

I was wondering the same a few days ago when it was first reported.

Would not be surprised if they ID'ed him from showing his father photos, and with the already reported and posted in here matching of the rifle serial number to his Dad's legally purchased rifle, and that the DNA match to ID comfirm his ID came later.

 

[Proeagle]

Not sure how quickly they found his car. But as you say, they probably used the Gun ID. The DNA test itself wouldnt take very long comparing his DNA to one of his parents. Even quicker if he was already in the DNA database but I doubt he was.

 

[BFew]

CBS now has a more detailed version of the 3 snipers inside the building report.
And the use of an air conditioning unit to get on top of the roof is reported as speculative, and not a fact.

Trump rally shooter's motive still unclear as Biden urges calm

"The political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It's time to cool it down. We all have a responsibility to do that," President Biden said.

www.cbsnews.com

'UPDATED 9:40 PM

Three snipers were stationed inside building used in Trump assassination attempt​

There were three snipers stationed inside the building the shooter used during Saturday's shooting of former President Donald Trump, a local law enforcement officer with direct knowledge of the incident tells CBS News.

The operations plan had them stationed inside the building looking out windows toward the Trump rally. The information about the three snipers being inside the building was first reported by BeaverCountian.com.

One of the snipers inside saw Thomas Matthew Crooks outside and looking up at the roof, observing the building and disappearing, a local law enforcement officer tells CBS News.

Crooks came back, sat down and looked at his phone. At that point, one of the snipers took a picture of him. Crooks took out a rangefinder and the sniper radioed to the command post. Crooks disappeared again and then came back a third time with a backpack. The snipers called in with information that he had a backpack and said he was walking towards the back of the building.

Officers believe that Crooks might have used an air conditioning unit to get on top of the roof.

By the time other officers came for backup, he had climbed on top of the building and was positioned above and behind the snipers inside the building, the officer said.

Two other officers who heard the sniper's call tried to get onto the roof. State police started rushing to the scene, but by that time, a Secret Service sniper had already killed Crooks, the officer said.
–CBS News' Anna Schecter'

 

[BFew]

There was an interview with a former classmate who said he got bullied every single day.

Former classmate of Trump rally gunman says he was ‘bullied almost every day’

A former classmate of the 20-year-old Pennsylvania man law enforcement identified as the shooter who opened fire at former President Donald Trump’s rally says he was "bullied almost every day" at school. NBC News' Shaq Brewster reports on what is known about the background and life of Thomas...

www.nbcnews.com

I wouldn't put much weight on reports below of the school counsellor claiming that kids weren't bullying Crooks.

Same goes for Crooks acting Conservative in school debates, after seeing his dry sense of humour in a video on X that appears to be Crooks (approx 16yo - 2020) self-claiming about the size of his little dickie.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/world/unacceptable-more-questions-raised-about-shooter/news-story/61b3d65e2b38c8e8a90031cfc1070e6e

‘Unacceptable’: More questions raised about Trump shooter'​

'July 16, 2024 - 7:56PM
...
The Philadelphia Inquirer quoted Crooks’ former classmate Max Smith, who described the world-be assassin as someone who “definitely was conservative” and a person who “always stood his ground on the conservative side” during political debates in the classroom.
...
Earlier reports that Crooks was frequently bullied were contradicted by Jim Knapp, a former counsellor at Bethel Park High School. While Crooks was “quiet as a churchmouse”, other students “weren’t calling him names, kids weren’t bullying him”, Knapp told the New York Times.

It also emerged that Crooks completed an associate degree in engineering science at a community college in May, graduating with high honours. He had also been admitted to study mechanical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, but in March told the university he would not be pursuing the course.
...'

 

[Kurve]

I wouldn't put much weight on reports below of the school counsellor claiming that kids weren't bullying Crooks.

Same goes for Crooks acting Conservative in school debates, after seeing his dry sense of humour in a video on X that appears to be Crooks (approx 16yo - 2020) self-claiming about the size of his little dickie.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/world/unacceptable-more-questions-raised-about-shooter/news-story/61b3d65e2b38c8e8a90031cfc1070e6e

‘Unacceptable’: More questions raised about Trump shooter'​

'July 16, 2024 - 7:56PM
...
The Philadelphia Inquirer quoted Crooks’ former classmate Max Smith, who described the world-be assassin as someone who “definitely was conservative” and a person who “always stood his ground on the conservative side” during political debates in the classroom.
...
Earlier reports that Crooks was frequently bullied were contradicted by Jim Knapp, a former counsellor at Bethel Park High School. While Crooks was “quiet as a churchmouse”, other students “weren’t calling him names, kids weren’t bullying him”, Knapp told the New York Times.

It also emerged that Crooks completed an associate degree in engineering science at a community college in May, graduating with high honours. He had also been admitted to study mechanical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, but in March told the university he would not be pursuing the course.
...'

People who speak of him, have given me the impression this far they do so with a kind of fond sadness. I haven't heard anybody speak badly of him.

He seems to be a bright, inoffensive kind of kid.

 

[Kurve]

Crooks parents are social workers, I wonder what their views of Trump might be.