Current:Home > MarketsTrump gunman spotted 90 minutes before shooting, texts show; SWAT team speaks-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Trump gunman spotted 90 minutes before shooting, texts show; SWAT team speaks
View Date:2024-12-23 19:08:08
Members of a local SWAT team at the scene the day former President Donald Trump was shot spoke out for the first time Monday, citing communication failures with the Secret Service but acknowledging that "we all failed that day."
"I remember standing in the parking lot talking to one of the guys" after the July 13 shooting, Mike Priolo, a member of the Beaver County, Pennsylvania, SWAT team, said on ABC's "Good Morning America." "We just became part of history. And not in a good way."
Also Monday, ABC News reported obtaining text messages indicating that would-be gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks drew the attention of a sniper more than 90 minutes before the shooting began on the grounds of the Butler Farm Show. That is more than a half-hour earlier than previously reported.
A sniper leaving the area where local SWAT members assembled texted the others that he saw Crooks "sitting to the direct right on a picnic table about 50 yards from the exit." He also texted that Crooks saw him leave the area with a rifle "so he knows you guys are up there."
About an hour before the shooting, sniper team member Gregory Nicol told "GMA "Good Morning America" he saw Crooks take a rangefinder from his pocket. Though rangefinders were not banned from rallies, Nicol took Crooks' picture and called in a warning of a suspicious presence.
“He was looking up and down the building," Nicols said. "It just seemed out of place.”
Crooks opened fire shortly after 6 p.m., killing rally attendee Corey Comperatore, 50, wounding Trump in the ear and critically injuring two other men. A Secret Service sniper on another roof fatally shot Crooks, authorities say.
"I think we all failed that day," Priolo said. "People died. If there was anything we could have done to stop that, we should have."
Investigation into Trump shooting:Many questions linger
Meeting with Secret Service did not take place
The Secret Service, responsible for security that day, typically is supported by local law enforcement. Jason Woods, team leader for Beaver County's Emergency Services Unit and SWAT sniper section, told "Good Morning America" his team was supposed to meet with the Secret Service before the event.
"That was probably a pivotal point, where I started thinking things were wrong because (the meeting) never happened," Woods said. "We had no communication ... not until after the shooting."
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle took responsibility for the security breakdown and resigned from her post.
Trump to cooperate with shooting probe
Trump has agreed to sit for a standard interview "consistent with any victim interview we do," Kevin Rojek, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Pittsburgh field office, said during a media briefing with reporters. Rojek said the FBI wants Trump's perspective of what happened.
FBI officials said they had yet to identify a motive for Crooks, the gunman. But they said he had conducted online searches into prior mass shooting events, improvised explosive devices and the attempted assassination of the Slovakian prime minister in May.
Contributing: Reuters
veryGood! (9534)
Related
- Horoscopes Today, November 13, 2024
- Photos and videos capture intense flames, damage from Park Fire in California
- How deep is the Olympic swimming pool? Everything to know about its dimensions, capacity
- Real Housewives of New Jersey Star Melissa Gorga’s Hacks for Stress-Free Summer Hosting Start at $6.49
- Song Jae-lim, Moon Embracing the Sun Actor, Dead at 39
- Don’t Miss Old Navy’s 50% off Sale: Shop Denim Staples, Cozy Cardigans & More Great Finds Starting at $7
- Meet the trio of top Boston Red Sox prospects slugging their way to Fenway
- Summer Olympic Games means special food, drinks and discounts. Here's some
- Is the stock market open on Veterans Day? What to know ahead of the federal holiday
- California Still Has No Plan to Phase Out Oil Refineries
Ranking
- Unexpected pairing: New documentary tells a heartwarming story between Vietnam enemies
- Even on quiet summer weekends, huge news stories spread to millions more swiftly than ever before
- Justin Timberlake's lawyer says singer wasn't drunk, 'should not have been arrested'
- What to know about Simone Biles' husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens
- Eva Longoria Shares She and Her Family Have Moved Out of the United States
- Kevin Durant, LeBron James propel USA men's basketball in Olympic opening win over Serbia
- Yes, walnuts are good for you. But people with this medical condition should avoid them.
- Body found in Phoenix warehouse 3 days after a storm partially collapsed the roof
Recommendation
-
'Devastation is absolutely heartbreaking' from Southern California wildfire
-
What's it like to play Olympic beach volleyball under Eiffel Tower? 'Something great'
-
Utility regulators file complaint against natural gas company in fatal 2021 blast in Pennsylvania
-
Archery could be a party in Paris Olympics, and American Brady Ellison is all for it
-
Deion Sanders addresses trash thrown at team during Colorado's big win at Texas Tech
-
US boxer Jajaira Gonzalez beats French gold medalist, quiets raucous crowd
-
California Still Has No Plan to Phase Out Oil Refineries
-
Team USA's Haley Batten takes silver medal in women's mountain biking at Paris Olympics