Former Secret Service agent weighs in on Trump assassination attempt, security breakdown
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - Jason Russell was a U.S. Secret Service agent for eight years, protecting Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Russell also worked many campaign rallies like the one held by former President Donald Trump this past Saturday in western Pennsylvania, where gunshots rang out - with one striking former President Donald Trump in the ear.
Killed in the attack was Pennsylvania man Corey Comperatore who died shielding his family, and two others were wounded.
"Anytime weapons have to come out, anytime shots are fired clearly something was missed," said Russell. "Usually, you’ll have agents show up for an event like that maybe three or four days ahead of time. The visit is broken up into different pieces so that site would have had an agent that was really assigned to set up all the security and coordinate all the security at that particular event site."
The big question is how on earth could the shooter, identified by authorities as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, ever get on top of a building.
Not to mention how did he manage to open fire with a clear line of sight only about 400 feet away from the former Commander-in-Chief and Republican nominee for president.
Federal investigators say Crooks was outside the secured perimeter and bought 50 rounds of ammunition, right before opening fire.
"The Secret Service does concern itself with what is outside the perimeter," Russell said. "Obviously those buildings were outside of the perimeter, but it doesn’t mean that they were ignored.
"What it generally means is we try to deal with those threats in a different way. By either deploying police officers to monitor those areas, obviously deploying the counter snipers to keep visibility on those areas."
Russell also says the Secret Service might not have had approval to man the building the shooter ended up firing from.
"It’s a private business, if the president were to go to downtown Detroit, you wouldn’t be able to close every business within 200 yards of where they’re at," he said. "So, anything that’s outside of the swept perimeter you’re trying to control with other things.
"In this case they were trying to control it with local police."
BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 13: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Butler County district attorney Richard Goldinger said the shooter is dead aft
That is one huge part of the investigation. And here’s another - did the Secret Service and local police simply not have enough manpower?
Russell says Saturday was a busy political day in Pennsylvania.
"In Pennsylvania alone on Saturday there were three Secret Service visits," he said. "The vice president was there, the First Lady was there and former President Trump. So you already have all these law enforcement assets that are probably spread pretty thin - and Secret Service certainly spread thin, because we’re coming into the Republican National Convention.
"So I think they’re trying to do the best they can with the resources that they have."
Russell praised the agents who jumped into the line of fire to protect Trump.
"When there’s a threat, you’re trained to put yourself between the threat and the person you’re protecting, cover them, put yourself at risk to make sure they’re not hurt," he said.
In the meantime investigators are still digging into the shooter's past to answer key questions and find the motive.
"We don’t know his opinions or affiliations," said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. "We don’t know whether he had help or support or if he communicated with anyone else."
The US Secret Service is reviewing their procedures and Congress' Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs led by Michigan's own Sen. Gary Peters.
