One of the main missions of the Secret Service snipers supporting former President Donald J. Trump’s rally was to perform a counter-sniper mission, as is standard practice. That means they were in position specifically to eliminate the kind of threat posed by the gunman who opened fire on his rally on Saturday.
One of the snipers had a white card attached to the scope of his rifle marked with diagrams and numbers. Such cards are used to detail the specific calculations needed for a sniper’s rifle in relation to various points — in this case, that would likely include the distant buildings on the property of the Butler Farm Show where Mr. Crooks shot from.
In photographs of the Secret Service snipers, they appeared to be using long-range and powerful rifles that likely fire .300 or .338 cartridges, commonly used by well-trained military snipers.
According to maps of the site and Google maps, the snipers were within roughly 200 yards of Mr. Crooks, an easy shot for any trained marksman.
A State Department agent tasked with the personal security of high-ranking diplomats said the snipers were in the right place but that the building Mr. Crooks shot from should have been secured given its height and short distance from Mr. Trump. The agent, who wasn’t directly involved in security for the Trump rally on Saturday, spoke on the condition of anonymity since he was not authorized to speak to the media.
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