Rep. Keating says Trump assassination attempt was "serious lapse" by Secret Service
BOSTON - The country is still reeling from the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
Senator Ed Markey expressed his concerns about the shooting on Tuesday. "Thank God he survived," Senator Markey said on Cape Cod. "What a tragedy that it has occurred."
Law enforcement officials told CBS News that moments before the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, a police sniper spotted the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthews Crooks, sitting outside of the building he used in his attack, and took a picture of him.
After Crooks was seen looking through a rangefinder, the police sniper immediately alerted the command post. Crooks was spotted again with a backpack, and police backup was called -- but by the time officers responded, Crooks had scaled the building and positioned himself above and behind the local snipers inside the building.
"It was a serious lapse that occurred"
"It was a serious lapse that occurred with the Secret Service," Rep. Bill Keating said Tuesday. "That's just not my opinion, that's the reality of the situation. So I think we'll be looking at those issues in Congress."
While the FBI said it cracked the shooter's phone, sources tell CBS News that investigators are struck by the lack of leads that could reveal a possible motive.
"This person appeared to live pretty much under the radar, so the FBI is going to have to do a much deeper dive in this particular case," said Todd McGhee, a law enforcement and security expert.
Warning about violent extremists
A federal law enforcement bulletin is now warning that violent extremists could try "follow-on or retaliatory" attacks over the next few months ahead of November's election. Veteran law enforcement experts say that threats should not be taken lightly.
"What we do need to be mindful of is to take these threats serious," McGhee said. "This is where our intelligence community comes in. This is where our federal partners working internationally, working and communicating here domestically to help identify these potential threats."