US Secret Service Received Warning About Trump Shooter but Ignored It: Reports

New Delhi: Fresh details emerged in the probe into the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump with US media claiming that the US Secret Service was warned about shooter Thomas Michael Crooks before the Republican presidential nominee took the stage at Pennsylvania rally. However, the Secret Service ignored the warning and allowed the shooter to go, reports claimed.

Meanwhile, law enforcement officials told lawmakers that Thomas Crooks was spotted on the roof by the Secret Service snipers 20 minutes before he fired his first shot.

As per media reports, the agency received an input about a "character of suspicion" on the premises over an hour before the shooting took place at Trump's campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday (US local time).

It has come light that the Secret Service was not aware of Crooks having a gun when the warning was received.

The New York Post, quoting Senator John Barrasso, reported, “He was identified as a character of suspicion because [he had] a rangefinder as well as a backpack. And this was over an hour before the shooting actually occurred."

“So, you would think that over the course of that hour, you shouldn’t lose sight of the individual. Somebody ought to be following up on those sorts of things. There is no evidence of that happening at all,” he added.

Attack ‘Timeline’

As per media reports, Thomas Crooks was identified as a person of interest at 5:10 pm, spotted by a rangefinder at 5:30 pm, then spotted on the roof by the Secret Service at 5:52 pm and that he fired shots at 6:12 pm.

Earlier, it was not known that the local cops who spotted Crooks outside the perimeter of the rally had apprised Secret Service agents in time. But, with new details surfacing, it is confirmed that the agency received the inputs.

Senator Barrasso further demanded the resignation of the Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle.