Questions about security measures after the assassination of former President Trump

2024-07-15 11:23:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Questions about security measures after the assassination of former President

The United States Secret Service is investigating how the assassin of former President Donald Trump managed to get close enough to open fire and wound him with an AR-style weapon on Saturday in Pennsylvania.

The event is being considered a profound failure of the agency.

The FBI on Sunday identified 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the "subject involved" in Saturday's assassination of former President Trump, one of the highest-profile acts of political violence in decades.

The agency said Crooks was from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, about an hour from the site of the rally where Mr. Trump was shot in the ear while giving a campaign speech.

Crooks was killed by Secret Service personnel.

He was only 150 meters from where former President Trump was speaking when he opened fire.

President Joe Biden said Sunday that he has requested an independent review of security measures at the rally. Mr. Biden said he has also directed the US Secret Service to review all security measures for the Republican National Convention, which begins Monday in Milwaukee.

Mr. Biden called on Americans not to speculate about the motive of the author of the attack.

The FBI is investigating the assassination as a possible act of domestic terrorism. The attack rocked the top of the American political system and resulted in — at least temporarily — a dampening of the heated 2024 presidential campaign.

The author's motive remains unclear. His family is cooperating with authorities.

Bomb-making materials were found in the car of the suspected perpetrator of the attack, and such materials were also found in his house.

His political leanings were not clear. He was registered as a Republican voter. But, according to Federal Election Commission data, when he was 17 years old, he also made a $15 contribution to the political organization "ActBlue," which raises funds for Democratic and left-leaning candidates.

Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office, told reporters that "it's amazing" that the gunman fired four or five times before he was killed.

"We currently do not have an identified motive, although our investigators are working tirelessly to try to find out what that motive was," Agent Rojek said, noting that the investigation could take months./VOA