Republican lawmakers visit Trump shooting site during investigation

(NewsNation) – A group of Republican lawmakers visited Butler, Pennsylvania, to get a firsthand look at the scene of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green led the trip Monday as part of a bipartisan investigation into how the gunman got to the rooftop from which he shot Trump.

“This committee continues to seek answers from DHS and the Secret Service regarding the security failures that led to the near assassination of former President Trump and the tragic murder of Corey Comperatore,” Green said.

The visit and subsequent press conference took place at the same time that US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was testifying about the shooting before another committee on Capitol Hill.

The Secret Service shot and killed the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, moments after the former president was assassinated. The FBI says the attack was the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.

The rooftop used by Crooks was less than 150 meters from where Trump spoke at a rally.

According to NewsNation sources, local authorities have ordered surveillance of the building, which is standard procedure for areas outside the event site.

A witness told media that he saw Crooks on a roof outside the rally and tried to alert police three to four minutes before the shooting.

A local police officer told AP he climbed to the roof after witnesses said he saw a man with a rifle. There he encountered Crooks, who pointed his rifle at the officer. The officer then climbed down the ladder and Crooks quickly fired shots at Trump.

Now, as the investigation into the shooting continues, lawmakers from both camps are calling for Cheatle’s resignation.