SAPULPA, Okla. — Two retired SWAT snipers in Green Country told 2 News numerous major failings in security led to the deadly shooting targeting former President Donald Trump.
Retired Maj. Nate Norton of the Sapulpa Police Department worked more SWAT calls with the Southwest Area Tactical Team than he can count. He retired from the force in 2019, which is why he can openly comment on the shooter who got a 148-yard view of Trump on July 13.
"I'm glad they're calling him a shooter because he ain't a sniper," Norton said. "If he was a sniper, President Trump would be dead on the very first shot. There's no ifs, ands, or buts about this. This is somebody that has some weird, sick agenda and did at best mediocre train(ing) in my opinion. Because at 130 yards, 190 yards, that is piece of cake gravy range for somebody that shoots."
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"(The shooter) could not have known, unless there was a huge security breach, of where the spots of the counter snipers were, unless he used his own drone," Norton added.
Retired officer Jason Lawless is also a former sniper and worked several events for the Tulsa Police Department's Special Operations Unit during Presidents Trump and Biden's visits to Tulsa.
"(The shooter) parked his vehicle and walked directly to this building and accessed the building," Lawless said. "And that's just not acceptable."
Back in 2016, Officer Lawless made headlines for saving a 2-year-old girl during a standoff by killing the man holding her hostage at gunpoint. He said Saturday's news left him "baffled".
"I don't know specifically at this place or how many people they had," Lawless said. "I know when they came to Tulsa, you know, it was all hands on deck. We had a very large law enforcement response to those rallies, and we tried to do as much as we could."
Both experts say serious fixes in Secret Service event security are now needed.
"You're going to be seeing a lot more secret service agents, a lot more counter-sniper surveillance," Lawless added.
"Why there wasn't drones up and people just sitting there monitoring the drones of the buildings or whatever they're scanning - they should've picked that guy up right away," Norton said.
There's another lesson Norton hopes the country learns from the incident.
"I want us all to just get along," he said. "Quit making it so much about Republican, so much about Democrat, and make it more about the United States."
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