The sheriff of the city where former President Donald Trump was assassinated over the weekend confirmed to a network affiliate CBS, KDKA-TVthat an armed police officer located the attacker on Trump on the roof of a nearby building before he carried out his plan.
Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe told the outlet that a local officer encountered Thomas Matthew Crooks before he carried out the attempted assassination of Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania.
The sheriff praised the officer for backing away when the 20-year-old gunman pointed his rifle at him on the roof, a move that drew heavy criticism in the days that followed, as one rallygoer died and two others were seriously injured.
“All I know is the officer had both hands on the roof to climb up, but he couldn’t because the shooter turned toward the officer and, rightly and intelligently, he let go,” Slupe said.
“People think police officers are supermen, like you hold the ceiling with one hand while you hold on tight and pull out a gun. It doesn’t work like that,” he added.
Shortly after the political event began, Crooks fired multiple shots into the crowd, with one of the bullets grazing Trump’s right ear, and he was rushed from the scene by Secret Service agents.
Former Fire Chief Corey Comperatore, 50, was shot in the head while shielding his family from gunfire.
The rally’s security has been questioned following the attempted assassination of the former president and now official Republican presidential candidate.
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has taken responsibility for the agency’s failure to prevent former U.S. President Donald Trump from being assassinated. Despite this, she said she will not resign.
Cheatle made the statement in an interview with the television network ABC News on Monday. She called the attempted assassination of the former president “unacceptable” and said it was her job to investigate what happened and ensure it never happens again.
“I take responsibility. I am the director of the Secret Service and I have to make sure that we conduct an investigation and that we resource our people when necessary,” Cheatle said, though she indicated that she was not resigning, as several critics have demanded.
Cheatle said in a statement that the Secret Service is working with federal, state and local agencies on the investigation into the attack and that she will “fully” participate in the independent investigation announced by President Joe Biden.
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