Serious security breach, Trump narrowly escaped death

The assassination of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, where the attacker and an attendee were killed, has raised many questions in America. One of the most frequently asked questions is how the security services could have made a mistake.

Felipe Rodriguez, a professor at New York’s John Jay College and a former NYPD investigator, told Voice of America that this was “a serious failure of the security services and it will require a long and thorough investigation to determine where the errors lay.”

Thomas Matthew Crooks, a resident of the town of Bethel Park in Pennsylvania, is suspected of murdering Trump; there is no information about a possible motive so far.

Professor Rodríguez states that, according to the information currently available, he is a “lone wolf” and that there is no evidence that Crooks has any links to a terrorist group.

“It appears that Crooks acted on his own. We still need to collect a lot of forensic evidence from his phones and computers to determine what kind of social media sites he visited. Was he radicalized in any way by an extremist group,” says Rodriguez.

In light of the increasing pressure surrounding this serious security breach, the US Secret Service announced that it would work with an independent body to review the entire situation.

Trump was shot at from one of the surrounding buildings while he was giving a speech on stage. In addition to the attacker, who was killed by police, a local firefighter who had tried to protect his family was also killed.

“The building should have been secured. Given the distance of 365 meters, it wasn’t really far enough to see it clearly. The threat level is high, it’s not like someone was shooting from behind the stands. And if we look at the video, the president probably could have been killed by the shot if he hadn’t been looking forward but to the side. It was very close,” says Rodriguez.

Police said they found bomb-making materials in Crooks’ car and home, and that his father had bought the assault rifle the young man used when he tried to kill Trump.

The Voice of America interlocutor recalls that the investigation is still in its early stages and that many technical details still need to be clarified before final conclusions can be drawn.

“Did he go up to the roof beforehand and leave the gun there? We know that this person was relatively intelligent. He was more of a loner, an individual who didn’t really cope with social interactions. But that doesn’t mean that he didn’t have some talent or intelligence,” explains Rodriguez.

The gathering was also attended by members of the Secret Service’s counter-sniper and assault defense teams, two law enforcement officials said, according to the Associated Press. The heavily armed assault defense team, code-named “Hawkeye” by the Secret Service, is responsible for eliminating threats so other agents can protect and take out the person they are protecting. The counter-sniper team, known by the code name “Hercules,” uses binoculars and is equipped with sniper rifles to eliminate threats from long distances.

“Whoever was in charge of the special unit should have seen this threat. It was pretty obvious and right in front of the camera. If they couldn’t see it, a local officer should have been assigned to that task. At the New York Police Department, for example, we sometimes have to provide flyovers when the president visits the city, so we try to send police officers to any position that is obvious or poses a threat,” says Rodríguez.

A former New York Police Department inspector also claims that one of the possible problems on Saturday was the insufficient number of police officers in the “fairly large area” where the rally took place. He also states that, based on the information released so far, it seems to him that another problem could have been poor communication between members of the police force.

“Sometimes they are not all on the same radio connection, so I think it could have been a miscommunication. I analyzed the footage several times and saw that many civilians were already shouting that there was someone with a gun. The only police officer who responded was a local and tried to approach him. Ali somehow fell off the roof or tripped and that’s when the fire broke out. If we had communicated through one channel, that might clarify the matter a little better. But we will see that when the investigation announces its results,” says Rodríguez.

He also explained what the usual protocol is for securing high-risk gatherings during the election campaign.

“They send advance guards – parts of the intelligence service – and try to secure the area and scout the site. But the attacker lived in the area and knew better where to hide and how the building was constructed. When we make security preparations with the team, we are always a little behind. So we try to get the information that the local authorities could give us. It’s not a perfect scenario, but unfortunately we sometimes lag behind with our intelligence information,” describes Rodríguez.

Two days after the attack, the Republican convention began in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Democratic convention began in August. The incident in Pennsylvania triggered an “alarm” among security authorities, signaling the end of the primary campaign before the November vote.

“I was at the Republican National Convention as a member of the New York Police Department and also protected the vice president of the country and things like that. The Secret Service is responsible for the inner ring, and we have what we call multiple layers or rings. And the outer perimeter is usually guarded by local and federal security forces. So the Pennsylvania police officers would help the understaffed Secret Service. The local police department would be responsible for the outer perimeter,” Rodriguez analyzed.

When it comes to securing high-risk events and visits, the military and other federal agencies are often involved, adds the Voice of America interviewee.

“When I attended the Republican convention in New York, we were already understaffed. Agents from the state’s security service came. We even had postal inspectors and partners from other federal agencies. I worked with the bomb disposal squad. It was very intense, we ‘cleaned’ the car every night. I also worked with members of the military and specialized K-9 units (patrols with trained dogs, prim.nov). I can say from my own experience that these conventions are a nightmare, it’s a lot of hard work. We worked 12 hours, for days without a break.”

The FBI said it would lead the investigation into the shooting, working with the Secret Service and local and state law enforcement. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department would “dedicate all available resources to this investigation.”

Professor Rodríguez is convinced that the use of modern technologies, such as drones, could provide a solution to reduce the risk of such incidents in the future.

“Unfortunately, many people don’t like the police presence, but sometimes it’s the best way to avoid these situations. Nowadays, we have specialized equipment and can use incredible technology like satellites. Someone made a mistake. There should have been extra security this close. This could easily have been the death knell for President Trump,” Rodriguez concluded.

( Voice of America )