By Melissa Koenig, Dailymail.Com
Updated: July 15, 2024 02:24, July 15, 2024 03:48
A military veteran who leads the team that holds the world record for the longest confirmed sniper kill has spoken out about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
Dallas Alexander, who served in the Canadian military’s sniper team for 14 years and provided personal security for major world leaders, including Canada’s prime minister, suggested in the video that the 20-year-old man who opened fire at the former president’s rally on Saturday night may have had inside help.
“I’m very familiar with how these types of things are laid out and how they should work, and I have no doubt in my mind, given what happened yesterday, that the shooter had support from a government agency or organization or somewhere,” he said in a video posted to his Instagram and X accounts.
Authorities said the gunman, suspected to be Thomas Matthew Crooks, lay on the roof of a building just 130 yards from where Trump was speaking and fired shots toward the stage in full view of his supporters.
But Alexander says they couldn’t have gotten that close.
“As soon as I saw the aerial photos of what they were saying happened, it just didn’t make sense to me,” he said.
“You can’t go up on a roof a few hundred yards away in broad daylight. [of the president]You can’t stand there with a gun while the president is speaking.
“You can’t do that,” Alexander argued.
“I mean, you don’t even have to be a sniper. It’s the most obvious thing in the world, the most obvious place.”
“You might think like a seventh grader, ‘What do I have to do to stay safe?’ Well, let’s look at these rooftops that are within rifle sights,” he joked.
“So something happened. I’m not blaming anybody, but this guy obviously had help getting there.”
“So whether somebody turned a blind eye or it was strategically planned, there must have been some planning going on, because an event like that, that kind of security, is no small thing. And it makes sense.”
Alexander went on to say that he would find that “very strange.” If you’re “good enough to track within 200 yards of one of the most difficult targets in the world,” you’re not going to miss the shot.
“If you have the skills to get in there and get around all the security, all the different layers of security, then you also have the skills to get past the first round,” he explained.
“That doesn’t make any sense to me.”
The bullet apparently aimed at President Trump on Saturday night grazed his right cheek and struck him in his right ear.
“So my opinion is — and I don’t know if this will come out now or much later — this guy was receiving assistance from somewhere and that’s obviously a concern,” Alexander said.
“I think it’s going to take a while, but you’re going to see it all for a while to come,” he added.
“Anyway, since I’ve been asked this so many times, here’s my opinion.”
a Members of Alexander’s JTF 2 sniper unit conducted the record shot in May 2017 using a McMillan TAC-50 rifle.
The bullet traveled 2.2 miles and remained in the air for about 10 seconds before striking and killing the Islamic State terrorist as he was leaving the building to get into his car.
It was the longest-ever recorded sniper kill and the Canadian government said at the time that it had thwarted an imminent attack on Iraqi security forces.
Alexander’s video comes as Republicans and Democrats alike are calling for an urgent investigation into the Secret Service’s response to the shooting.
Witnesses say they warned police about the man. Equipped with an AR-style rifle Climb to the top of the building.
Police reportedly suspected something was wrong and spotted him at the Trump rally and kept an eye on him, but lost sight of him before the massacre unfolded.
Some officials have since suggested the Secret Service should have conducted regular checks to weed out any potential threats.
FBI Special Agent Kevin Rojek also said in a condemnation statement Saturday night that it was “astonishing” that Crooks was able to fire so many bullets before being shot and killed by agents.
There were also allegations that the Trump campaign had sought greater protections for its election activities but was denied.
The Secret Service has since denied those allegations but is still under intense scrutiny for what it has called a “total failure.”
President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the White House on Sunday, promising an “independent investigation” into what happened at the rally.
“I am leading an independent national security investigation. [at] “We will conduct an independent review of exactly what happened at yesterday’s rally and share the results of that review with the American people,” Biden said.
Former Secret Service agent Joseph LaSorsa also spoke to DailyMail.com. It calls for increased protections for former presidents, giving President Trump roughly the same protections as President Joe Biden.
He also explained why investigators from the law enforcement agency under attack were unable to see the shooter.
“Remember, they’re monitoring 360 degrees and you’re dealing with seconds. What they’re monitoring may well have been 240 degrees in that case.”
“They were checking a lot of areas and it only took a few seconds for the individual to get there and luckily he was 20 years old and not a great shooter.”
“Fortunately for all of us, the people, he was only 20 years old.”
He added: “If he hadn’t been taken out we could have continued with the reshoots.”
“The country is very lucky that there were counter-sniper units that took him down, because things could have been 1,000 times worse.”
House Republicans now plan to summon Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle on July 22 for a heated question-and-answer session as lawmakers demand an explanation.