How Obstructed View Delayed Sniper Action at Trump Rally

United States: Within seconds of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opening fire at a rally for former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday evening, he was fatally shot by the Secret Service.

The rapid response by the agency raised a lot of questions about how such a critical security lapse occurred despite the presence of specialized teams, who were there to protect the peace

Washington Post Analysis Sheds Light on Security Breach

A new Washington Post analysis, based on over 40 videos, photos, and satellite imagery, sheds light on the potential reasons behind this security breach.

The analysis utilized terrain modeling to reconstruct the rally site and examine the shooter’s position. It found that the two Secret Service counter sniper teams might have been obstructed by the roof’s slanted sides and nearby trees, which could have impaired their ability to spot Crooks as he ascended to the roof.

This analysis reveals that these environmental factors may have shown a significant role in the teams’ inability to detect the shooter before he fired.

The Secret service is responsible for the overall coordination of the security measures during that event  and the agency’s director said that it tasked the local enforcement with securing the building from which crooks allegedly opened fire and that officers failed to prevent him from accessing the roof.

The Secret Service declined to comment when asked whether the slant of the roof or the trees would have impacted the teams’ ability to respond.

The Post’s assessments were reviewed and corroborated by three former law enforcement officials, including two retired snipers and a former Secret Service agent, as well as a former marine sniper.

Environmental Factors Impaired Counter-Sniper Teams’ Effectiveness

The post’s 3D model that has been portrayed in the Washington Post and both the units may have been hampered by the pitch of the building’s roof where the Crooks found which raises roughly 3 to 5 feet  from its exterior walls to its peak and according to the analysis  which placed a camera at the eye view of the teams Crooks would  likely not have been visible as he crawled up the roof to take his final shooting position.

Secret Service’s Role and Response

The Post’s reconstruction shows that the northernmost Secret Service counter sniper team closest to the suspect — slightly more than 400 feet away and atop an approximately 23 foot tall barn — may have further struggled to see him because of two trees located between them.

The second counter sniper team which was located roughly 550 feet from the shooter, while farther away, could have had a less obstructed view, according to The Post’s reconstruction, because they were positioned slightly to the west and the trees may not have been in their line of sight.

“If they’re on scope, they’ve been notified about something,” Lawless said. As Crooks fired his first shots, one of the counter snipers on the northernmost team flinched, he said, took his eye away from the scope, and reset his position.

The southernmost counter sniper team, which can be seen in earlier images facing south, appeared to reorient northward before Crooks allegedly fired, suggesting that they were also aware of a threat.