(NewsNation) — The building where the man who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump shot his weapon from was assigned to local authorities to cover, a U.S. Secret Service source told NewsNation.
The source said it’s standard for local police to handle areas outside the perimeter of an event because they know them better. The shooter was set up on a building some 130 yards away from Trump’s stage at a rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania.
“The Secret Service is responsible for security of this event,” Butler County, Pennsylvania District Attorney Richard Goldinger told NewsNation in response. Goldinger added he did not want to get into a finger-pointing match with the Secret Service.
A local officer did check on the roof and found the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, the source confirmed, but did not engage because he couldn’t reach his weapon and Crooks’ gun was pointed at him.
According to the source, the shooter was flagged in the security process as he entered the rally, but officers lost him in the crowd as they tried to follow him. He was then spotted on the roof, and the officer checked on him before backing off. Then, Crooks opened fire. A Secret Service sniper killed him shortly after.
The Secret Service is still investigating how Crooks got on the roof.
Crooks’ shots injured, but did not kill, Trump and two attendees: David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74. Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed as he shielded his family from the fire.