New text messages released by the New York Times are shedding some light on possible missed opportunities to stop a gunman from firing shots at former President Donald Trump at rally in Butler earlier this month.
It’s also been reported that the gunman wanted to blow up his vehicle as a diversion to escape after the shooting.
The messages show that local officers saw the gunman, Thomas Crooks, 90 minutes before the shooting occurred.
On CBS' Face The Nation, House Foreign Affairs Chair Representative Michael McCaul of Texas said the shooter never should have had a clear shot at the former president.
“I went out to the site, I went up to the rooftop, this individual should never been that close to the President of the United States, it was very, very close and the fact he even got there in the first place was a failure, it should’ve been stopped,” said McCaul.
McCaul also said Crooks have two bombs in his car.
The Senate Homeland Security Committee has scheduled a hearing for tomorrow hearing to further discuss the security issues at the rally.
Crooks was fatally shot after shooting toward the former president, hitting Trump in the ear.