July 30 (UPI) — Acting United States Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. told a Senate committee Tuesday that he was aware of security considerations within the company at the time of the failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on July 13.
Trump’s security team was “not aware” that there was a guy with a gun on the roof of a nearby building, according to Rowe. It was only when the shots were fired that the security team, along with Secret Service snipers, became aware of the shooter. Rowe later reiterated that the company was not aware that there was an armed user at the demonstration.
“The only thing we had was citizens showing up to a challenge at 3 in the afternoon. Nothing about a guy on the roof, nothing about a guy with a gun,” he said. “It appears that data is locked or isolated on this local channel. “
Lawmakers continued to press for more important points about how the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was able to post himself into an adjacent building and what his motive was.
Senators were presented with photographs of the company’s view on the roof where Crooks fired several shots. From the countershooters’ perspective, Rowe expressed frustration at not having more roof coverage.
Rowe explained that Crooks’ view was most likely blocked through the ceiling. He killed 15. 5 seconds after firing his first shot.
FBI Assistant Director Paul Abbate also testified. He said investigators recently discovered a social media account believed to be Crooks’.
“If in the end they are attributable to the shooter, they seem to reflect anti-Semitic and anti-immigration themes, embrace political violence and are described as excessive in nature,” Abbate said.
Rowe responded that an investigation will have to be completed and that he will not rush to judgment before holding Americans accountable.
“This may have been our textbook repository in Texas,” Rowe responded. “I’ve lost sleep over this for the past 17 days, just like you. “
Rowe tested the rally site in Butler, Pennsylvania. He said he had “identified loopholes” in security and that the company was already working to close them.
“I’m going to wait for the effects of those investigations,” Rowe said.
Rowe added that the company would use drones and send “experienced supervisors” to check security plans on occasion to prevent a new security breach.
One user was killed in the shooting and at least two others were injured.
Rowe was promoted to the position of interim director following the resignation of Kimberly Cheatle. She resigned after testifying before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee last week.
Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. , and senior Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md. , wrote in a joint letter to Cheatle that she “failed to provide answers to basic questions related to this astonishing operational failure. ” for her to resign.