Secret Service, law enforcement under scrutiny after assassination attempt

Federal agents did not search the building where Thomas Matthew Crooks perched to shoot former President Donald Trump on Saturday, according to a CNN report Monday. Rather, local law enforcement agents were tasked with searching the building, a Secret Service spokesperson reportedly told CNN. Law enforcement officials anonymously told the Associated Press that a local officer tried to climb up after the shooter, but backed down at gunpoint. The shooting took place in Butler Township outside the city limits, according to the city of Butler, Pa. website. 

The Secret Service is deeply grateful to the officers who ran towards danger to locate the gunman and to all its local partners for their unwavering commitment, the agency wrote in a statement early Tuesday morning. The Secret Service emphasized that it was not blaming local law enforcement for Saturday’s incident and that it was deeply grateful for officers’ unwavering commitment and bravery.

What else has the Secret Service said lately? U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Monday extended her condolences to the family and friends of Corey Comperatore, who lost his life to Crooks’ gunshots. The agency improved security at the ongoing Republican National Convention following the attempt on Trump’s life, Cheatle said. Before the shooting, the U.S. Secret Service recently added protective resources and capabilities to the former President’s security detail, Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi said Sunday.

Is the Secret Service investigating its procedures and how they might have failed? The Secret Service will cooperate with an independent review U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Sunday, Cheatle said. The review will seek to determine what happened at the rally, Biden said. Cheatle also promised to work with Congress on any sort of oversight actions lawmakers chose to conduct.

Dig deeper: Read R. Albert Mohler Jr.’s column in WORLD Opinions about the attempt on Trump’s life.