Pittsburgh – Two weeks after an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump left one person dead and two injured, and after days of congressional testimony, some big questions remain unanswered but experts say they could shed light on the incident.
Among those who appeared before Congress were Kimberly Cheatle, who served as director of the United States Secret Service (USSS) until resigning shortly after testifying, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Pennsylvania State Police Colonel Christopher Paris.
After police found would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks and named him a suspect, Crooks managed to disappear from view and climb onto a rooftop in direct view of the former president, where he opened fire, hitting Trump in the ear and killing one man in the audience and critically wounding two others, according to the FBI.
Bullet trajectory analysis at Trump rally contradicts FBI ‘shrapnel’ testimony before Congress: report
Why was Donald Trump allowed on stage when there were active questions about security?
“That’s the key question,” said Paul Mauro, a former NYPD inspector who has worked in command centers at other VIP events. “That’s where the investigation will ultimately converge.”
Former President Donald Trump was shot in the ear and surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The fact that police had identified Crooks as a suspicious person long before Trump took the stage showed a failure of communication, he said.
Authorities were hard at work searching for Crooks as Trump emerged to begin his speech, and the gunman could have been killed with a single bullet if he hadn’t been disturbed by a local police officer who was peering over the edge of the roof to search for him, Mauro said.
“If things get to that level, they should hold Trump for 20 minutes until they find him,” he added.
Ex-Navy SEAL sniper highlights vulnerability from Pennsylvania rooftop where Trump was shot at Capitol
The plans called for it to be “sterile,” so why wasn’t the rooftop safe?
After drawing criticism for saying roofs were not staffed because they were “sloped,” Cheatle told lawmakers last week that the Secret Service prefers “dead roofs” — roofs that are secured in a way that makes it impossible for anyone to get on them.
But the would-be assassin was able to make the climb, despite having been identified as a suspicious person well before the shooting.
An aerial photo shows investigators investigating the scene of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Fox Flight Team)
“That’s the biggest question,” said Michael Virden, a former Secret Service agent and founder of security firm Lake Forest Group. “The answer is, why wasn’t there anybody on the roof?”
Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Paris said he was told by the Secret Service during a pre-rally patrol that a Butler County tactical team had been instructed to secure the roof.
With multiple investigations ongoing surrounding the event, some focusing on security failings and others on Crooks himself, the questions will be crucial for those involved in planning and security for the event.
A Secret Service agent in tactical gear looks out as agents, on the left, surround former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump following a shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“In the USSSS investigation, it’s important to have information so the right people are held accountable,” said former FBI agent Nicole Parker. “If law enforcement identified a potential threat, why didn’t they cover all of the potential vulnerabilities? It should have been locked down anyway, but especially if they found someone suspicious or posing a threat.”
What prompted Crooks to plot the assassination?
Little is known about Crooks’ motive, which the FBI said last week was one of the main focuses of its investigation.
Thomas Matthew Crooks will graduate from Bethel Park High School in 2022. On Saturday, July 13, 2024, an assassination attempt occurred on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, when 20-year-old Crooks opened fire and a Secret Service counter-sniper shot and killed him. (Source: Fox News Digital)
“What was the event or series of events that led him to decide to embark on a path of violence?” asked Parker, who has experience investigating mass shootings after the Parkland, Florida, shooting.
She said investigators were trying to identify the “trigger stressors” that transformed Crooks from a college student living with his parents into a would-be assassin.
Authorities say Crooks has no criminal history and no record of mental illness. The murder weapon was legally purchased by his father in 2013.
Little was revealed about Crooks’ radicalization or ideology during his congressional testimony last week, but a former classmate told Fox News Digital that he “didn’t like politicians.”
Timeline: Trump assassination attempt
With whom was Crooks in contact? Encrypted Apps?
Crooks had an unusually low online presence, but the FBI is analyzing his devices.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified last week that agents had already found disturbing Google searches that included the phrase “how far was Oswald from Kennedy” but also said Crooks had been using an encrypted messaging app.
WATCH: FBI director: One week before Trump rally, gunman investigated for JFK assassination
Authorities say they believe he acted alone, but his communications may hold clues.
Nearly all modern criminals leave some kind of evidence on their devices, according to Ashton Pack, a former Las Vegas detective who served in the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
“It’s very interesting that there’s encryption involved,” Varden told Fox News Digital.
Police took this photo of Thomas Matthew Crooks after he was deemed suspicious before the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Source: Fox News Digital)
This could delay efforts to investigate his digital footprint, he said.
Click here to get the FOX News app
“I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but we need to be sure that he acted alone and that he wasn’t conspiring with anybody else,” he added. “And that’s a very big part of this investigation … is this guy’s history and what he’s done leading up to that date.”
Conman kills 50-year-old man Corey Comperatore David Duch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were seriously injured.
Fox News’ Sarah Lampe Whitten contributed to this report.
