Latest details in the Trump rally shooting over the weekend
BUTLER, Penn. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - In just a few hours, Republicans will open their National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but the focus of the political world is on Pennsylvania Monday morning in the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Federal agents are searching for evidence and answers while the Secret Service is facing questions and criticism for what some in law enforcement are calling a security failure.
The area is still locked down as multiple federal investigations intensify in Pennsylvania.
The FBI is working to learn more about the 20-year-old suspected shooter, described as an outcast and loner, while Homeland Security and now independent investigators look for what led to what many are calling a breakdown in the Secret Service security detail.
Former President Trump traveled to Millwaukee for Monday's openning of the Republican National Convention (RNC) just a day after the attempt on his life.
Late Sunday, Trump posted the message, "Unite America," on social media, as President Biden addresses a stunned nation from the Oval Office.
"The political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It's time to cool it down. We all have a responsibility to do that," Biden expressed.
"Responsibility" is at the center of growing questions and frustration over how it could happen.
A rooftop, less than 150-yards from the rally stage, left open and accessible. The alleged shooter, seen in a new video, was able to fire at least eight shots from the position before he's taken out by Secret Service snipers.
"The buck does stop with the Secret Service. It's their plan, so you're responsible. You can't deflect blame on anyone else," said Evy Poumpouras, former Secret Service agent and NBC News law enforcement analyst.
President Biden is ordering an independent investigation into what many in law enforce are calling "a colossal breakdown" and "profound security failure."
"If that bullet was two inches to the right, it would have penetrated the former president's forehead. We would have a great American tragedy of our hands," said Jim Cavanaugh, a former ATF special agent and NBC News law enforcement analyst.
Federal agents searching for a motive say the man accused of pulling the trigger, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks is still a mystery, unknown to law enforcement before the attempted assassination.
A cell phone and other electronics belonging to Crooks are now at the FBI lab in Quantico. Investigators are hoping they uncover data that will give them a better picture of the suspect and why he was allegedly trying to kill the former president.
