A police officer involved in the security operation for Donald Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was shot, claims there was no communication between their SWAT team and the U.S. Secret Service before the attack. The lack of communication is believed to be part of a critical planning failure that allowed the gunman to wound Trump and kill a spectator.
In the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, former President Trump and his team have questioned why they weren't informed by law enforcement about a suspicious individual spotted at the venue prior to the shooting.
Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump Raises Questions about Security Failures
A police officer from the Beaver County tactical team has now revealed that there was a lack of communication between their SWAT team and the U.S. Secret Service before the attack. Jason Woods, the lead sharpshooter for the team, told ABC News that they were supposed to receive a face-to-face briefing with Secret Service members but it never happened.
"I think that was probably a pivotal point, where I started thinking things were wrong because it never happened," Woods said. "We had no communication."
Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump Raises Questions about Security Failures
Woods and his team were in position hours before Trump took the stage at the Butler Farm Show, but their first communication with the Secret Service was "not until after the shooting." By then, he said, it was "too late."
One of the Beaver County snipers took pictures of the suspect, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, and called into command about his suspicious presence at the venue. However, Crooks was still able to position himself on the roof of a nearby building.
Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump Raises Questions about Security Failures
Meanwhile, members of Trump's Secret Service detail and his top advisers have questioned why they weren't told about the suspicious person.
Trump's advisers thought that the sounds of shots, which they heard from a large white tent behind the stage, were fireworks, according to the Washington Post.
Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump Raises Questions about Security Failures
"Nobody mentioned it. Nobody said there was a problem," Trump said in an interview with Fox News' Jesse Watters. "They could’ve said, ‘Let’s wait for 15 minutes, 20 minutes, five minutes,’ something. Nobody said — I think that was a mistake."
In the wake of the assassination attempt, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned, and a series of law enforcement and congressional probes have been announced.
Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump Raises Questions about Security Failures
Beaver County Chief Detective Patrick Young said the group "did everything humanly possible that day." However, the communication breakdown and security lapses have raised serious questions about the planning and execution of the security operation.
As the investigations continue, it is unclear if the communication failures and security breaches could have been prevented or if they contributed directly to the assassination attempt.
