Law Enforcement Repeatedly Lost Track of Trump Shooter

Law enforcement repeatedly lost sight of former President Trump's would-be assassin after he raised red flags at Saturday's rally in Pennsylvania, according to new reporting. Thomas Matthew Crooks first drew suspicion around 3pm at the security screening area when he passed through magnetometers with a rangefinder, used to measure distances to remote objects, CNN reports. He was watched until leaving the secure area, then "the Secret Service lost sight of him," Sen. John Barrasso said Wednesday following a briefing on the event, where senators were told Crooks had visited the same site and a shooting range in the days before, per NBC News.

Crooks' next movements at the rally are unclear, though it's believed he may have returned to his vehicle to retrieve a rifle owned by his father. Also in the Hyundai Sonata were two homemade bombs designed to be set off by a remote control, which was found in Crooks' pocket; a bulletproof vest; and three fully-loaded magazines, per the New York Times and CNN. At 5:51pm, local law enforcement notified the Secret Service of a suspicious person and a Secret Service sniper snapped a photo of Crooks shortly after. But local officers attempting to follow the man "lost track," the Times reports. At least two local officers were pulled from traffic detail to help with the search for the man, which was still ongoing when Trump took the stage at 6:02pm.

Why Trump was allowed on stage at all is one of numerous questions still to be answered. At 6:09pm, video shows witnesses told local police about a man with a gun on the rooftop of a warehouse building 450 feet from the stage. It had been excluded from the Secret Service's security perimeter though it had "a clear, elevated line of sight toward the stage," per the Times. It was apparently used only as an observation post, which "created a blind spot," the outlet notes. A Secret Service counter-sniper team positioned behind Trump shifted to take aim at the building, but it's unclear if snipers could see Crooks, who was on the far side of the building's pitched roof. Within minutes, he'd fired off eight shots. (More Trump rally shooting stories.)