FBI identifies Trump rally shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks <--- Thread is about the perpetrator, the crime, and the motivation, not Trump

[Danthemailman]

And they apparently were since it's been reported that local PD encountered the shooter on the roof before the attempt. Too late it seems.

I saw reports on that. It clearly sounds to me like law enforcement dropped the ball. No excuses. I listened to an interesting speech from Matthew Murphy who is a retired Green Beret and level 1 sniper in counter assassinations voice his two cents on what happened. Dan Bongino (who is a former Secret Service agent) stated that a decent sniper can easily hit a target out to 500 yards or more so why is the Secret Service claiming the building the shooter used to fire at Trump (which was a little over 100 yards away) wasn't their responsibility? I can't repeat what Dan said after that. Let's just say he is furious! It all smells fishy to me and it will be very interesting to see how this all plays out.

 

[Servus]

The shooter not having any footprints leading to anything is a bit fishy too. All the info gathered about him is totally generic and useless. The odds of him surviving after opening fire with those snipers was nil. Dead men tell no tales.

 

[Sif]

.

 

[durangodawood]

It is disturbing to many, but it would seem the shooter acted alone and for motives that may remain known only to himself. The fact a quiet, seemingly intelligent individual can cause such chaos and harm by themselves is disturbing and unnerving. However, to quote a movie "Some men just want to watch the world burn". Fictional movie sure, but the quote is no less true.

The fact we find such a thought/idea so unpalatable it is understandable odd theories are created to comfort our minds and sensibilities.

People are desperate for a big-story to tie things together. We are addicted to meaning like junkies.

But some things just happen and are not part of any high level narrative of great powers and puppet strings. Instead they are simply connected to everything else in the mundane ways that all human lives are interconnected.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

How pathetic that such a twerp, on his own, was able to beat the most pristigious, highly trained law enforcement agency in the world.

Which agency is that?

There was a time when one could say that Secret Service members were some of the most highly trained, as they used to tend to cherry pick either former special forces members, or police officers with experience in SWAT, or people with extensive history and experience in heading up private security details for VIPs.

However, they've watered down their criteria over the past few years from the sounds of it. And have specifically said they were making an effort to hire more women to be on secret service details.

It went somewhat viral not long after the event, but there's the footage of the one Secret Service detail member fumbling trying to re-holster their gun, and a few seconds another shouting "where are we supposed to go?"


Daughter of John McCain (and former member of the The View) Meghan McCain made a good point:

And this incident isn't the first time their DEI initiatives have drawn scrutiny with regards to questions surrounding whether or not they've lowered some standards. There was a pretty high profile incident involving one of the agents that was tasked with protecting VP Harris.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/04/25/secret_service_scuffle_prompts_dei_vetting_scrutiny__150846.html

 

[Brihaha]

I wonder if this will make anyone rethink have guns in the house?

Of course it will. Many Americans are probably buying more firearms for their homes as we speak.

 

[JosephZ]

Trump shooting live updates: Shooter's rooftop was law enforcement staging area​

The building where gunman Thomas Crooks scrambled onto the roof and opened fire was the staging area for the local police tactical team doing overwatch of the crowd, two law enforcement officials told ABC News.

Sources previously told ABC News that the building had been swept, but investigators are trying to determine whether roof access had been properly locked down.

The gunman gained roof access without a ladder, according to a source briefed on the preliminary findings.

 

[RDKirk]

Maybe not. In the past people have tried to spark a 'race war' by killing the right person. Can you imagine the amount of armed and angry people if Mr Trump were removed from the census? Americans have a proud and noble tradition of shooting people who make them angry.

It's stochastic but it makes sense.

If the shooter had been black, maybe. Otherwise, it's yet another silly conspiracy theory.

I suspect this was just another extremely disaffected young male who had just discovered that obediently obeying his elders had still left him unprepared to live. As someone else mentioned, this Trump visit was his serendipitous opportunity to go out in the brightest blaze of infamy.

 

[RDKirk]

Trump shooting live updates: Shooter's rooftop was law enforcement staging area​

The building where gunman Thomas Crooks scrambled onto the roof and opened fire was the staging area for the local police tactical team doing overwatch of the crowd, two law enforcement officials told ABC News.

I suggested earlier that the fact activity on roofs was expected might have created a lull in alertness.

If I were involved in the "hot washup" session, I'd have some suggestions for next time: Keep everyone involved in ground-level security (that is, the local police) in the communication link with open mics and more frequently reporting their locations and status. Inasmuch as the Secret Service has probably already identified likely shooting positions, keep an eye on all of them, whether occupied or not, and report the status of every one of them with high frequency as well. I'd suggest that frequency be set at the amount of time it takes to cross space and get to any one of them...probably not more than five minutes. Incorporating drones would be a good idea.

That's going to result in a lot of radio chatter, which is another issue to consider. It may require a channel of its own for the status updates with the ability to switch to a command channel if unknown activity is spotted.

 

[BPPLEE]

I suggested earlier that the fact activity on roofs was expected might have created a lull in alertness.

If I were involved in the "hot washup" session, I'd have some suggestions for next time: Keep everyone involved in ground-level security (that is, the local police) in the communication link with open mics and more frequently reporting their locations and status. Inasmuch as the Secret Service has probably already identified likely shooting positions, keep an eye on all of them, whether occupied or not, and report the status of every one of them with high frequency as well. I'd suggest that frequency be set at the amount of time it takes to cross space and get to any one of them...probably not more than five minutes. Incorporating drones would be a good idea.

That's going to result in a lot of radio chatter, which is another issue to consider. It may require a channel of its own for the status updates with the ability to switch to a command channel if unknown activity is spotted.

The SS would have to bring enough radios for everyone because more than likely they’re not going to be able to communicate with local and state law enforcement on their radios

 

[RDKirk]

The SS would have to bring enough radios for everyone because more than likely they’re not going to be able to communicate with local and state law enforcement on their radios

That wouldn't be necessary or advisable. It's the local police who would need that much connectivity. Only key members of their operation would need (or should even have) connectivity to the Secret Service.

Communication is a balancing act. This was something we faced in the intelligence community 'way back in the 90s, when it became possible for an analyst in the Pentagon to see terrorists sneaking up to an American position in the Middle East in near-real time. Should that analyst directly contact that Army staff sergeant and bypass the staff sergeant's entire chain of command? The answer to that is not simple....lots of pros and cons and room for unintended consequences.

 

[BPPLEE]

That wouldn't be necessary or advisable. It's the local police who would need that much connectivity. Only key members of their operation would need (or should even have) connectivity to the Secret Service.

Communication is a balancing act. This was something we faced in the intelligence community 'way back in the 90s, when it became possible for an analyst in the Pentagon to see terrorists sneaking up to an American position in the Middle East in near-real time. Should that analyst directly contact that Army staff sergeant and bypass the staff sergeant's entire chain of command? The answer to that is not simple....lots of pros and cons and room for unintended consequences.

The shooter was spotted over two minutes before he fired a shot and local law enforcement couldn’t get the message to the SS

 

[essentialsaltes]

The Crooks family’s digital footprint is small, but some of their few online tracks tie them to internet marketplaces that buy or sell guns.

NTTAWWT

 

[RDKirk]

The shooter was spotted over two minutes before he fired a shot and local law enforcement couldn’t get the message to the SS

So, there is a guy on a roof. Which roof, exactly? The roof "over there?" Let's look at my diagram. Let's see. Let's see. Let's see. Okay, that's roof #12. Let me look at my playbook to see if that's a roof that has one of the Secret Service snipers on it. Doesn't look like it, unless they changed something and didn't advise little me. Let me call my ops chief. He'll check to make sure I'm right and that nothing has been changed that I don't know about, then he'll contact the Secret Service.

 

[BPPLEE]

So, there is a guy on a roof. Which roof, exactly? The roof "over there?" Let's look at my diagram. Let's see. Let's see. Let's see. Okay, that's roof #12. Let me look at my playbook to see if that's a roof that has one of the Secret Service snipers on it. Doesn't look like it, unless they changed something and didn't advise little me. Let me call my ops chief. He'll check to make sure I'm right and that nothing has been changed that I don't know about, then he'll contact the Secret Service.

There’s a guy in section two, roof number one, bear crawling. SS is not stationed there.
All that should have been defined and labeled beforehand.
What you’re describing is probably what happened

 

[BPPLEE]

That wouldn't be necessary or advisable. It's the local police who would need that much connectivity. Only key members of their operation would need (or should even have) connectivity to the Secret Service.

Communication is a balancing act. This was something we faced in the intelligence community 'way back in the 90s, when it became possible for an analyst in the Pentagon to see terrorists sneaking up to an American position in the Middle East in near-real time. Should that analyst directly contact that Army staff sergeant and bypass the staff sergeant's entire chain of command? The answer to that is not simple....lots of pros and cons and room for unintended consequences.

It would be advisable for the SS to monitor radio traffic. Local and state LEOs need not have connectivity to them, that could be limited to leadership

 

[Landon Caeli]

Bold assumption there. When it comes to highly trained I'm not sure 'American' is the auto complete answer.

Secret Service should be the best of the best... But they couldn't stop a kid in one of the most basic situations possible.

 

[RDKirk]

It would be advisable for the SS to monitor radio traffic. Local and state LEOs need not have connectivity to them, that could be limited to leadership

As I said earlier:

If I were involved in the "hot washup" session, I'd have some suggestions for next time: Keep everyone involved in ground-level security (that is, the local police) in the communication link with open mics and more frequently reporting their locations and status. Inasmuch as the Secret Service has probably already identified likely shooting positions, keep an eye on all of them, whether occupied or not, and report the status of every one of them with high frequency as well. I'd suggest that frequency be set at the amount of time it takes to cross space and get to any one of them...probably not more than five minutes. Incorporating drones would be a good idea.

That's going to result in a lot of radio chatter, which is another issue to consider. It may require a channel of its own for the status updates with the ability to switch to a command channel if unknown activity is spotted.

 

[Merrill]

They have only said no apparent motive has been discovered (yet). If he didn't leave a note entited "Why I did it" it may take some time and investigation.


FBI's initial conclusion is that he did act alone.

Trump rally suspected gunman acted alone, FBI says​

The FBI officials, in a call with reporters, said the investigation was at an early stage and that they had not yet identified an ideology associated with the suspect. They said finding the motive behind the shooting was one of their priorities.

the FBI cannot make a conclusion that the shooter acted alone if they do not have any evidence from social media, PMs, letters, etc.

when confronted with no evidence and material, one cannot simply say "well I guess he acted alone"!

logic dictates that zero evidence means covering tracks, and that means others might be involved

 

[Landon Caeli]

Which agency is that?

There was a time when one could say that Secret Service members were some of the most highly trained, as they used to tend to cherry pick either former special forces members, or police officers with experience in SWAT, or people with extensive history and experience in heading up private security details for VIPs.

However, they've watered down their criteria over the past few years from the sounds of it. And have specifically said they were making an effort to hire more women to be on secret service details.

It went somewhat viral not long after the event, but there's the footage of the one Secret Service detail member fumbling trying to re-holster their gun, and a few seconds another shouting "where are we supposed to go?"


Daughter of John McCain (and former member of the The View) Meghan McCain made a good point:

View attachment 351623

And this incident isn't the first time their DEI initiatives have drawn scrutiny with regards to questions surrounding whether or not they've lowered some standards. There was a pretty high profile incident involving one of the agents that was tasked with protecting VP Harris.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/04/25/secret_service_scuffle_prompts_dei_vetting_scrutiny__150846.html

That woman from all the pictures had no business being there. First of all, she's too short to be used as a body sheild. She's a risk for the entire mission.