‘Slope of roof’ prevented Secret Service from securing spot Trump shooter aimed from

The Secret Service said it didn’t have a presence on the roof where a 20-year-old gunman shot at Donald Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday because of the slope of the roof.

Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle said in a television interview that part of the reason the agency did not place a police officer on the roof of the building where Thomas Matthew Crooks took aim at the former president because of the grade of the roof.

Two FBI investigators scan the roof of the building from which shooter Matthew Thomas Crooks fired at Donald Trump.Credit: Getty Images

Local police were instead stationed inside the building by the Secret Service to help spot threats, the Washington Post reported.

“That building, in particular, has a sloped roof at its highest point, and so there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof,” Cheatle said. “So, you know, the decision was made to secure the building from inside.”

Police inside the AGR International building saw Crooks walking back and forth around the building with some gear, the Post reported. They then radioed the Secret Service to alert them, the official told the Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation.

The revelations over the handling of security at the event on Saturday (US time) have added to the list of questions about the Secret Service’s conduct before and during the day of the assassination attempt on the Republican presidential nominee.

A screen grab from a video shot by a bystander and sourced by celebrity website TMZ shows the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks.Credit: Backgrid/TMZ

US officials also revealed that a threat from Iran prompted the US Secret Service to boost protection around Trump before Saturday’s attempted assassination of the former president, though it appears unrelated to the rally attack, according to two US officials.

Upon learning of the threat, the Biden administration reached out to senior officials at the Secret Service to make them aware, the officials said, adding it was shared with the lead agent on Trump’s protection detail and the Trump campaign.

That prompted the agency to surge resources and assets. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters.

Trump told candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr that the bullet that hit his ear during Saturday’s assassination attempt “felt like a giant – like the world’s largest mosquito”, according to a video of a phone call on Sunday posted on social media and confirmed by Kennedy.

In the leaked call, Trump also suggested to Kennedy that the independent presidential candidate could do something to support the Trump campaign.

“I would love you to do something – and I think it would be so good for you and so big for you,” Trump can be heard saying via speaker phone in the video, apparently referring to the 2024 election race.

“We’re gonna win,” Trump said, after which Kennedy said, “Yeah.”

“We’re way ahead of the guy,” Trump added, referring to Democratic incumbent President Joe Biden.

Kennedy supporters range across the political spectrum, from liberal to conservative to independent, and some polls show he would draw voters from both Trump and Biden.

Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention.Credit: Bloomberg

The video was first posted by Kennedy’s son, Robert F. Kennedy III, who said it was recorded on Sunday (US time), a day after Trump was shot at a rally in Pennsylvania. Robert F. Kennedy jr apologised after the video was posted online.

Of Biden’s phone call with Trump after the assassination attempt, Trump said, “It was very nice actually.”

The additional security resources did not prevent Saturday’s attack at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania that left Trump injured to the ear, killed one rallygoer and severely injured two more when a 20-year-old with an AR-style rifle opened fire from a nearby rooftop.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Credit: AP

“As we have said many times, we have been tracking Iranian threats against former Trump administration officials for years, dating back to the last administration,” said National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson.

“These threats arise from Iran’s desire to seek revenge for the killing of Qassem Soleimani. We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority.”

Trump’s call with Kennedy

Trump’s phone call with Kennedy also included a conversation about vaccines, which echoed some of Kennedy’s earlier views. The environmental lawyer has spread misinformation on vaccines for years.

“When you feed a baby, Bobby,” Trump said, “a vaccination that is like 38 different vaccines, and it looks like it’s meant for a horse, not a, you know, 10-pound or 20-pound baby ... and then you see the baby all of a sudden starting to change radically.

“And then you hear that it doesn’t have an impact, right? But you and I talked about that a long time ago.”

After the call spread on social media, Kennedy on Tuesday apologised to Trump on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

“When [former] President Trump called me I was taping with an in-house videographer,” he wrote. “I should have ordered the videographer to stop recording immediately. I am mortified that this was posted.”

A day earlier, Kennedy posted on X about meeting Trump, writing, “Our main topic was national unity, and I hope to meet with Democratic leaders about that as well. No, I am not dropping out of the race.”

The Democratic Party views Kennedy, who began the race as a Democratic candidate before declaring himself independent, as an election “spoiler” who would take votes away from Biden and in effect help Trump win the White House.

Democratic National Committee spokesperson Matt Corridoni said on X that Kennedy also had dinner with conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson at the Republican National Convention, taking place in Milwaukee this week.

“He [Kennedy] has no path to victory in this race and is nothing more than a spoiler for Trump,” said DNC communications adviser Lis Smith.

The Kennedy campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters, AP, Chris Zappone

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