This is the moment for the US to address the root causes of violence and reaffirm democratic values so that American democracy can become a beacon of light again
Attack On Donald Trump
The United States of America is witnessing a moment of deep reckoning. The assassination attempt by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Pennsylvania of the presumptive Republican Presidential candidate, Donald Trump, has revealed to the world a septicaemic American political system.
The US Secret Service was under intense scrutiny on Sunday after a gunman managed to evade its agents and open fire on former President Donald Trump at a political rally, with Republican leaders vowing swift investigations and President Joe Biden calling for an independent review. The gunman, a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man, injured Trump and killed a rally attendee from a rooftop perch around 150 yards (140 m) from the stage where the former president was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, officials said.
Trump, 78, who like other former presidents has lifetime protection by the Secret Service, was swarmed by agents who then rushed him away. Agents killed the shooter, identified by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, and an AR-15-style semiautomatic was recovered near his body, officials said. Notably, the shooter’s location was outside the security perimeter, raising questions about both the size of the perimeter and efforts to sweep and secure the American Glass Research building, and how the shooter was able to obtain rooftop access.
President Joe Biden said Sunday he has directed US Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle “to review all security measures – all security measures – for the Republican National Convention.” “I’ve directed an independent review of the national security at yesterday’s rally to assess exactly what happened. And I’ll share the results of that independent review with the American people,” Biden said.
FBI Now Leading The Investigation
It is not yet clear how the shooter was able to obtain rooftop access in relatively close proximity, or why that building was left outside the “hard” security perimeter. The FBI is now the lead agency investigating the attempted assassination. But the security lapse issue will be for the Department of Homeland Security and USSS, as well as Congress, to look into. Multiple law enforcement sources told CNN that the shooter had explosive material in his car and residence. The Secret Service does not allow any weapons inside the cordoned off areas of any event. AGR has not responded to questions from CNN about the incident or security.
Authorities have identified the gunman involved in the attack as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed by Secret Service agents at the scene after the shooting. The Secret Service says there were four counter-sniper teams – two from USSS and two from local law enforcement. The agency says that, at the time of the shooting, Cheatle was in Milwaukee, where this week’s Republican National Convention is being held.
Calls from Congress for probes into security ‘failure’
Republican and Democratic lawmakers are already demanding answers from the agency on the security posture and hearings on the incident.
US Presidents And Presidential Candidates Assassinated
Historically, four presidents—Abraham Lincoln, James A Garfield, William McKinley, and John F Kennedy—have been assassinated.
