Security Concerns at Trump Rally Amid Shooting Incident

Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot and killed by a sniper after opening fire at Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania. The incident highlighted significant lapses in security as police failed to stop Crooks from reaching a rooftop vantage point. President Joe Biden has ordered an independent investigation.

Signs of trouble were evident before shots rang out at Donald Trump's Pennsylvania rally: Police had a report of a suspicious man pacing near the magnetometers and were exchanging photos of the suspect. Witnesses pointed and shouted at an armed man on a nearby roof.

When a police officer climbed up to the roof to investigate, the gunman turned and pointed his rifle at him. The officer did not — or could not — fire. A sniper shot and killed 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks within seconds of him firing an AR-style rifle toward the former president, but it was too late.

Investigators are now working to understand how an armed man with no military background reached high ground and outmaneuvered Secret Service agents. President Joe Biden has ordered an independent investigation of the attempted assassination. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated he has "full confidence" in the Secret Service but admitted the gunman should not have reached that position.

(With inputs from agencies.)