Days after a man attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump in Butler County, questions remain about who is responsible for lapses in security.

The local lines of police coverage are established. The AGR International building, which the gunman used as a perch on Saturday, July 13, is in Butler Township, which has a police department. But the Butler Farm Show grounds, where the rally took place, is in Connoquenessing Township, which is under the coverage of the state police.

Officials from Butler Township and the state police each said their department was not responsible for securing the AGR International building.

State police said it “provided all resources” the U.S. Secret Service requested, including 30 to 40 troopers to help secure the inside perimeter of the farm show grounds.

Butler Township manager Tom Knights said the township’s police department was responsible for traffic control, but only for roads within Butler Township.

However, the experience from inside Trump’s rally did not inspire much confidence from some of its attendees, including Eric Burkett, a retired U.S. Marine Corps major, who said Saturday’s event differed from the one he attended for Trump in Erie in 2020.

Burkett said he was on a list with U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, to get into the “VIP section” at the rally. Yet Burkett, a double-amputee, would never make it to the section, which was just a few rows away from Trump.

Burkett said although he was registered for the VIP section, people were entering the area without being checked for tickets. Additionally, Burkett said he was not screened as thoroughly as he was in 2020, and it appeared many other people inside were not either.

“There were lots of backpacks, lots of umbrellas. I saw a wagon; I saw coolers which were all things they said they could not bring to the farm show grounds,” Burkett said. “It just overall had a bad feeling from the beginning, and it didn't get any better as it went along.”

Butler Township police were present at three meetings with the Secret Service in the week leading up to the rally, Knights said.

Myles Snyder, communications director for the state police, said the agency routinely aids federal partners during large events such as the Trump rally, and always provides “any and all resources needed to ensure Pennsylvanians’ safety.”

Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle said Monday, July 15, that agency personnel moved quickly during the incident. She said the service’s counter sniper team killed the shooter and other agents ensured Trump’s safety.

Cheatle said the service added security enhancements to Trump's security detail in June and has implemented changes to his security detail since Saturday.

“The U.S. Secret Service, in conjunction with our federal, state and local law enforcement and public safety partners,” Cheatle said, “designs operational security plans for National Special Security Events to be dynamic in order to respond to a kinetic security environment and the most up-to-date intelligence from our partners.”

It was a Butler Township police officer who climbed to the roof and discovered the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, before he pulled the trigger.

The officer who discovered Crooks, Knights said, was hoisted up onto AGR International’s roof by another officer and made eye contact with the gunman before Crooks pointed his rifle at the officer who released his grip and fell from the roof. Knights said four township officers converged on the building before the shooting.

Knights said the officer was unable to access any of his equipment, including his gun or his radio, from his position on the roof, but the officer relayed a message on a radio channel which included the Secret Service about the shooter’s position.

The FBI has conducted nearly 100 interviews of law enforcement personnel, event attendees and other witnesses, according to a news release from the agency. Knights said the FBI has not conducted all of its interviews with Butler Township.

Lorrie Cole, of Clay Township, arrived at the farm show at 4 a.m. to get in line early for Trump’s rally. After she entered the venue and the day wore on, the crowd became more and more “chaotic.” Cole said she and the people around her at the rally were packed together so tightly that people began sitting and laying on the ground, blocking aisles and barring any space to leave.

After finding it was “impossible” to get to the bathroom, or to a water or food station, Cole called 911 then the farm show office for help, and she even began screaming for security at the rally for some sort of aid.

Alas, Cole’s efforts were in vain.

“We were packed in there like sardines, it was not safe,” Cole said. “I never saw an officer that whole entire time.”

The shooting made the worst-case scenario a reality, Cole said.

“It was a nightmare, and you're just waiting for something to go wrong, and the worst case scenario happened,” she said. “There were medical helicopters, police; you don't know if the shooter is still around. Once we got back to our vehicle, we sat there for a couple hours. They shut down the internet; we couldn't use our phones.”

Pam Smith, of Forward Township, said during the public comment section of Wednesday’s meeting of the Butler County commissioners that she remained rattled after witnessing the shooting Saturday.

Smith, a Republican committeewoman, arrived at the July 13 rally early to help set up before taking her seat in front of the candidate she hopes will become president for the second time come November.

“We were all in shock,” she said of the shots ringing out on Saturday and Trump being hit in the ear at the Butler Farm Show grounds in Connoquenessing Township. “There was nothing else.”

Having had a few days to think it, she said several security concerns existed at the rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds compared to the five others she has attended in Pennsylvania.

She said no police or security were in place in the farm show parking lot, so if an emergency were to occur there, police, EMS or other emergency responders would have been delayed in reaching someone who was having an issue.

Smith also said that although coolers, chairs and other items were explicitly banned at the rally, her husband was allowed to bring a cooler in and she saw others carrying in items that appeared on the list of prohibited items that ticket holders received before the rally.

In addition, Smith said her son and his family were standing near the AGR International building when the shooter fired at Trump, wounding him and two others and killing a Buffalo Township man.

“How does he get in there?” Smith asked.

She said she will continue to support Trump in his campaign to win the White House, up to and including attending more rallies.

“I would have walked back in there if he got back on the podium and sat in the front row again,” Smith said of her allegiance to Trump.

Smith told the commissioners “This should never have happened. It’s a stain on our community.”

Burkett said his experience at the rally, and the events that took place there, point to a lack of planning by officials, which has left him with questions.

“When your plan breaks down, your level of supervision breaks down, when the former president and candidate is actually shot, and a person is killed at a rally, something is wrong,” Burkett said. “I believe there is culpability with whoever was in charge of security.”