Michael Abrahams | Making sense of the Trump rally shooting

The image of former American president Donald Trump, standing with a bloodied face and right fist raised in defiance, with the American flag in the background, is iconic. As Mark Zuckerberg remarked, Trump’s fist-pump reaction, in the immediate aftermath of the shooting at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was “badass”.

However, when one peruses the sequence of events that transpired before, during, and after the incident, rational and pertinent questions remain, many of which concern the actions of the Secret Service and local law-enforcement officials.

One of the most burning questions is: How was someone with a rifle able to access an excellent rooftop vantage point, with a direct line of sight, about 150 yards from someone with such a high “threat profile? According to reports, the alleged shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, used a semi-automatic AR-style 556 rifle (legally purchased by his father in 2013), from which he allegedly fired several rounds, grazing Trump’s right ear, killing a rally attendee, and wounding two others.

Crooks did not suddenly materialize out of nowhere. Local law-enforcement officials had observed him acting suspiciously near the magnetometers (metal detectors) stationed outside the event and had reported their findings to the Secret Service. Law enforcement also observed him with a backpack and a golf rangefinder. There is also video footage of rally attendees frantically alerting the police after observing him, in possession of a rifle, climbing on to the roof of a nearby warehouse.

Secret Service observed Crooks on the roof of the building at 5:52 p.m. Trump took the stage at 6 p.m. During this time, a local law-enforcement officer climbed on to the roof and saw Crooks, who pointed the gun at the officer, who fell backwards. At 6:12 p.m., gunshots rang out from the direction of the rooftop for about 26 seconds before Crooks was fatally shot. Not only did Secret Service officials see Crooks 20 minutes before the first shots were fired, but they also admitted that they had identified him as a suspect more than an hour before that.

DEPLOY DRONES

In such a situation, it would have been appropriate to deploy drones. But they were not used. When Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was asked in a law-enforcement briefing with senators why drones had not been used to detect potential threats, she responded, “We determined that the risk from that rooftop was mitigated by counter snipers.” When asked by ABC News why the rooftop of the building had not been secured, she replied, “That building, in particular, has a sloped roof at its highest point, and so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof, and so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building from the inside.” However, Republican senator Ted Cruz made a valid point, noting that because the rooftop where the gunman opened fire was sloped, counter snipers would not be able to see everywhere on the rooftop. So the argument against using drones is feeble.

The handling of Trump in the immediate aftermath of the shooting has also come under scrutiny. Many security and firearm experts agree that the protective detail’s performance after the shots were fired did not follow well-established procedures. When the gunfire erupted, Trump initially went down, and agents appropriately dove on top of him. However, concerns have been expressed about the “extraction” process in which the protectee is evacuated and protected from subsequent attacks. After Trump rose to his feet, his face and his torso were exposed, which should not have happened as there was no certainty that the threat to his life had passed. Indeed, it could have been a scenario in which, after the initial shooting, a more lethal attack was to follow.

BENT OVER

Multiple Secret Service agents have confirmed that Trump should have been bent over at the waist, with his head down and his body entirely surrounded by agents as he was being whisked away to prevent further shots from hitting him should there be more than one sniper. Not only was one agent much shorter than he, but another bent down at least twice to retrieve their sunglasses.

Trump was heard repeatedly saying, “Let me get my shoes.” Then as he was being escorted away, he stopped in his tracks, looked out into the crowd, gave three fist pumps, and yelled the word “fight” three times. Trump’s extra few minutes on stage was seen by many as a serious operational failure by the Secret Service, the agency charged with protecting him. According to former Secret Service Director John Magaw, “It was absolutely terrible coverage trying to get him out.” And as if the apparent ineptitude of the Secret Service at the rally was not enough, after initially denying it, the agency admitted that it had turned down earlier requests for more federal resources sought by Trump’s security detail over the past two years.

The FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting, and Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service spokesman, told USA TODAY that “there is an independent review panel that’s going to look at all aspects of this”, including the evacuation process. Not much is known about the alleged would-be assassin. Crooks was a loner who had been relentlessly bullied at school. He was a registered Republican in Allegheny County but also donated $15 to a Chicago-based Democratic PAC in 2021. No motive has been found for him to try to take out the former president.

According to Trump’s son Eric, there is “no question” that Cheatle should resign, a sentiment many hold. However, she said she has no plans to. Representative Ruben Gallego, former Marine and Arizona Democrat, said that those “responsible for the planning, approving, and executing of this clearly insufficient security plan need to testify before Congress and be held accountable”.

I agree. Something is just not right.

Michael Abrahams is an obstetrician and gynaecologist, social commentator, and human-rights advocate. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and michabe_1999@hotmail.com, or follow him on X , formerly Twitter, @mikeyabrahams.