Why the Secret Service Had Not Deployed a Sniper Unit at Trump’s Shooter's Location

The head of the Secret Service came under fire for an interview in which she claimed that snipers weren't stationed on the roof of the building where the gunman at the Donald Trump rally opened fire due to a 'sloped roof'. As reported by the New York Post, U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle commented during an interview with ABC News. She also said that the agency was aware of the building's security flaws, which Thomas Matthew Crooks used as a sniper target for Trump. 

During an interview with ABC's Pierre Thomas that aired on Tuesday morning's Good Morning America, Cheatle remarked, "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." Cheatle declared during the interview with Thomas that she would not be leaving her position, even though she and the Secret Service have been under fire for how they handled the situation. She told ABC that 'the buck stops with me' in response to the growing criticism. Cheatle called the whole incident 'unacceptable' and further added, "And it’s something that shouldn’t happen again."

Notably, the gunman was found outside the security perimeter, which begs the issues of how the shooter gained access to the roof, the extent to which the perimeter was swept and secured, and the size of the perimeter itself. On Sunday, Joe Biden said that he had ordered Kimberly Cheatle, the head of the US Secret Service, 'to review all security measures - all security measures - for the Republican National Convention.' As reported by CNN, Biden said, "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."

New information regarding the security breaches that enabled the gunman to climb a building close to the rally site is coming to light. Among these details is the fact that the building was serving as a staging area for a police tactical team, and that three snipers from the local police force were stationed inside with orders to watch the rally from the windows. According to CBS News, an officer did see the guy 'scoping out' the roof with a rangefinder, but he managed to climb the building and get access to the roof via an air conditioning unit unimpeded.

According to footage studied by The New York Times, which was shot by an eyewitness, two minutes before the first gunshot, individuals were gesturing towards the individual believed to be the shooter and desperately requesting assistance from the authorities. The footage raises further concerns over the amount of time the Secret Service had to warn the public before shooting and killing the attacker. A bystander said that they saw the assailant take aim. Republicans have requested that Cheatle appear before Congress next week to discuss the failed assassination attempt.