Donald Trump's Pennsylvania rally shooting was ‘preventable and should…’

A recent report from the House Task Force investigating the deadly shooting at former US President Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania on July 13 was a “preventable” incident and cited “a lack of planning and coordination between the Secret Service (USSS)”.

The Monday report detailed how 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from a rooftop just outside the event’s security perimeter, grazing Trump's ear and killing one attendee while injuring two others, and could have been “preventable and should not have happened” with better coordination between the USSS and state and local authorities.

Crooks was eventually killed by a single bullet to the head, but not before firing eight shots at the rally. A final report is expected by December 13.

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Report details severe ‘lack of planning and coordination’ of Secret Service

“Although the findings in this report are preliminary, the information obtained during the first phase of the Task Force’s investigation clearly shows a lack of planning and coordination between the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners before the rally,” the report noted.

It was also revealed that there was no central meeting between the USSS and supporting law enforcement agencies on the morning of the rally—two key failures identified in the 51-page document. “Put simply, the evidence obtained by the Task Force to date shows the tragic and shocking events of July 13 were preventable and should not have happened,” the report stated.

“Three local law enforcement officers noticed Crooks around 5 p.m. ET, each ‘independently’ deducing his ‘behaviour and manner were suspicious,’” That means Crooks had been in local law enforcement's radar for about 40 minutes before opening fire.

The absence of a central command system with the USSS hindered communication between local, state, and federal law enforcement.

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House report also includes witness testimony

A member of the Butler Township Police Department spotted Crooks on the roof moments before he opened fire. The officer, gripping the edge of the roof, shouted, “THERE’S AN AR! AN AR! AN AR! A GUY WITH AN AR!” before falling. However, the task force found no evidence that this warning reached Trump’s Secret Service detail before shots were fired.

Notably, the USSS initially claimed one of their snipers took him down, but the report quotes a member of the Butler County Emergency Services Unit (ESU) who said “He fired a single shot from a standing position at Crooks, who was in a prone position on the roof.” An autopsy also confirmed “no evidence of an entry wound from a second bullet.”

The House Task Force report also noted that, “Local law enforcement told the Task Force that the Secret Service did not give any guidance to Butler ESU and Beaver ESU regarding the placement, role, and responsibilities of their snipers…”