DETROIT, Mich. — One day after the attempted assassination on former president Donald Trump, metro Detroit voters react to the news as a former FBI agent delves into how the investigation is likely to unfold in the coming days.
Detroit voter Lisa Logan says the news of the incident had her family shocked.
“My boyfriend’s in the military, he’s a Marine, so it was a big deal. His dad is a sniper so it was something that was talked about for an hour or two," Logan said. “It unbelievable. It’s scary."
For Logan and many other local voters, questions surrounding the incident remain at the forefront.
“To get that close, at 20 years old, I mean it just doesn’t make any sense," she said.
Authorities have identified the shooter as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. The suspect killed one person who attended the rally and critically wounded two others in addition to the president.
While some Democrats in Detroit don't agree with Trump's policies, they don't agree with the violence.
“President or not, I don’t condone violence for anybody so I’m glad he was okay," Detroit resident Joseph Doggett said.
The FBI has taken the lead on the investigation and former FBI agent at the Detroit field office, Andy Bartnowak, says it will be a team effort between agencies to find answers.
"They'll be doing interviews of neighbors, of friends, of individuals that he communicated with or contacted. Anybody who had any contact with the shooter, they're going to want to interview at some point," Bartnowak said.
As for the scrutiny on the Secret Service, who provided security at Trump Pennsylvania event, their response will be investigated as well.
"Every time there's an intelligence failure or there's a law enforcement failure, rightfully so, law enforcement is going to...be scrutinized, and deservedly so," Bartnowak said. "They're going to take a long, hard look at this. And if there were mistakes made in procedures or protocols or human error, I expect that we'll learn about it shortly thereafter."
President Biden was recently in Detroit for a campaign rally himself where security was tight. Michigan State Police oftentimes assists when high-profile political figures visit the state. Even Lieutenant Mike Shaw of the MSP is shocked at the violence he's seen in recent years.
“We’ve seen it at MSU, we’ve seen it at Oxford High school, we saw it at the splash pad in Oakland County where people with access to firearms are doing things that we haven’t seen before," he said.
Trump is still expected to attend the Republican National Convention Monday in Milwaukee and per his team, is recovering well.
