A local police officer saw the gunman on the rooftop during former President Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania rally on Saturday but was unable to engage him, Butler County Sheriff Michael T. Slupe told CNN’s Pamela Brown on Sunday.
Slupe said that Butler Township officers received calls about a suspicious person outside the perimeter of the rally and went looking to find that person. The initial calls did not indicate the suspicious person had a gun, he said.
During the search for the suspicious person, officers with township police discovered that the gunman was on the roof, and one local officer hoisted another to get up to the ledge. The shooter turned around, saw the officer peering over and pointed his gun at him. The officer let go of the ledge to “take cover” and save his own life. The gunman then started firing from the rooftop. Trump, who says he was shot in the ear, was rushed offstage with blood on his face.
When asked if the overall security lapse that led to a gunman having a direct line of sight to Trump was a failure, Slupe said it “obviously” was.
“This is being investigated and obviously at the end of the day, we’re going to learn something from it,” Slupe said.
He went on to say the agencies were not made aware of intel or red flags ahead of the rally in Butler, which the Trump campaign announced on July 3.
About a week before the rally, Slupe said there was a big meeting at which the US Secret Service, state police, township police, bomb squads and other law enforcement entities discussed roles and responsibilities.
“Everyone who had a potential role was in that meeting,” Slupe told CNN.
There were other meetings for security preparations, but this was the only one Slupe was aware of involving all law enforcement entities.
Slupe, who was positioned inside the perimeter near the firing line during the rally, said he didn’t think there was actual gunfire when he first heard the popping noises. He described turning around to see where the noise was coming from and seeing that a rally attendee had been shot.
Had he known there were any threats of a gunman, Slupe said, he would have done “everything to stop him (Trump) from coming out.”
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