The U.S. Secret Service is investigating how a gunman armed with an AR-style rifle got close enough to shoot and injure former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. The gunman, who was killed by Secret Service personnel, fired multiple shots at the stage from an elevated position outside the venue.
An AP analysis of videos and photos from the rally, along with satellite imagery, shows the shooter was alarmingly close to the stage. A video posted on social media shows the body of a man in gray camouflage lying motionless on the roof of a manufacturing plant near the rally site. The roof was less than 150 meters from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a skilled marksman could reasonably hit a target. The shooter used an AR-15, a semi-automatic civilian version of the military M16.
Secret Service counter sniper and counter assault teams were present at the rally, according to law enforcement officials who spoke anonymously. The counter assault team, code-named “Hawkeye,” and the counter sniper team, code-named “Hercules,” are responsible for dealing with immediate threats.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated that his department and the Secret Service are working with law enforcement to investigate the shooting, emphasizing the importance of securing presidential candidates and their events.
Calls for an investigation came from all political sides. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Republican, contacted the Secret Service for a briefing and called on Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear for a hearing. U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat, also called for investigating the security failures at the rally.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, said his staff is in contact with security planners ahead of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, stressing the importance of rejecting political violence.
The FBI is leading the investigation with support from the Secret Service and local and state law enforcement. Attorney General Merrick Garland assured that the Justice Department will use every resource to investigate the incident, condemning the violence as an attack on democracy.