(NewsNation) — Signs of trouble were evident in the minutes before shots rang out at Donald Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania.
Police had a report of a suspicious man pacing near the magnetometers and were apparently exchanging photos of the suspect, according to new reports.
Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Dan Meuser, who was at the rally when shots rang out, joined “NewsNation Now” to discuss his experience, saying the lapse in security can be traced back to the Secret Service.
“We had Secret Service, we had Homeland Security. I talked with dozens and dozens. We did have the local police as well that was being managed and guided by the Secret Service. But clearly there was a serious lapse in the plan and a serious lapse and execution,” Meuser said.
A sniper cut down 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks within seconds of him firing an AR-style rifle toward the former president, but it was too late.
Now, investigators are trying to painstakingly piece together how an armed man with no military background managed to reach high ground and get the jump on teams of Secret Service agents.
“The local police, this isn’t their main profession and their main skill set. They follow the lead of the Secret Service, i.e. via the Homeland Security. So the lapse began, unfortunately, at the top and on the ground,” Meuser said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.