SEDGWICK COUNTY —A woman accused in a deadly shooting has made her first court appearance in the case.

Mercedes Muldrew, 35 of Wichita, is charged with 1st degree murder, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

Just after 5:30p.m. September 22, police were dispatched to a shooting at an apartment complex in 3500 block of Inwood in Wichita, according to&nbsp; Ford.

Officers learned that a verbal altercation had taken place between 38-year-old Daryl Clark and a female suspect later identified as 35-year-old Mercedes Muldrew. The argument escalated when she reportedly began physically assaulting him, according to Wichita Police spokesperson Andrew Ford.

The situation further escalated when the Muldrew brandished a handgun and fired one shot, striking Clark in the chest.&nbsp; &nbsp;EMS transported him to an area hospital, where he was pronounced deceased at 6:22 p.m. Police arrested Muldrew. Her&nbsp;next court appearance is scheduled for October 8. She remains in jail on a $750,000 bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727111287181.png" alt="MULDREW -photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>MULDREW -photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —A woman accused in a deadly shooting has made her first court appearance in the case.Mercedes Muldrew, 35 of Wichita, is charged with 1st degree murder, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.Just after 5:30p.m. September 22, police were dispatched to a shooting at an apartment complex in 3500 block of Inwood in Wichita, according to&nbsp; Ford.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727129407850.png" alt="Police on the scene of the investigation-photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the investigation-photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>Officers learned that a verbal altercation had taken place between 38-year-old Daryl Clark and a female suspect later identified as 35-year-old Mercedes Muldrew. The argument escalated when she reportedly began physically assaulting him, according to Wichita Police spokesperson Andrew Ford.The situation further escalated when the Muldrew brandished a handgun and fired one shot, striking Clark in the chest.&nbsp; &nbsp;EMS transported him to an area hospital, where he was pronounced deceased at 6:22 p.m. Police arrested Muldrew. Her&nbsp;next court appearance is scheduled for October 8. She remains in jail on a $750,000 bond.

Kansas woman charged in attack that killed man

&nbsp;JACKSON COUNTY (JASO) —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.

Shortly before 8a.m. Sept. 26, a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2003 Acura LT on U.S. Hwy 75 and 214th Road near Holton for multiple alleged traffic infractions, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

Upon contacting the occupants of the vehicle, the driver was identified as Paula Louise Michael, 61, of Topeka, Kansas. During the course of the traffic stop a Jackson County Sheriff’s K9 alerted to the odor of illegal narcotics within the vehicle. A probable cause search of the vehicle was conducted and resulted in the discovery of illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia.

Michael was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, a hallucinogenic drug, and possession of drug paraphernalia.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727468514804.png" alt="Michael-photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Michael-photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>&nbsp;JACKSON COUNTY (JASO) —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect on drug allegations.Shortly before 8a.m. Sept. 26, a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a 2003 Acura LT on U.S. Hwy 75 and 214th Road near Holton for multiple alleged traffic infractions, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.Upon contacting the occupants of the vehicle, the driver was identified as Paula Louise Michael, 61, of Topeka, Kansas. During the course of the traffic stop a Jackson County Sheriff’s K9 alerted to the odor of illegal narcotics within the vehicle. A probable cause search of the vehicle was conducted and resulted in the discovery of illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia.Michael was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine, a hallucinogenic drug, and possession of drug paraphernalia.&nbsp;

Kansas sheriff's K9 found drugs during traffic stop

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Authorities on Friday reported they positively identified the human remains found on September 11 in the yard of a home in the city of Rose Hill as&nbsp;Kennedy Jean Schroer, according to Rose Hill Police Chief Taylor Parlier.

"We understand that many in the public might be confused how an arrest in this case has not been made, that is completely understandable, Parlier stated in a media release.

"What we would like to convey is that we have one chance to gather as much information as possible, to find out what happened to this child and to tell her story. While we understand the desire to hold persons accountable, we need to get this correct and not fast. Releasing too much information might appear to implicate a person or persons who were not involved, so in our search for the truth we need to equally work to protect peoples’ rights."

Kennedy Jean Schroer, born on July 14, 2014, was adopted by Crystina and Joe Schroer in November 2018 and is believed to have died in late 2020, according to a statement from Rose Hill, Kansas Police Chief Taylor Parlier.

The remains were brought to the Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center for the postmortem. Due to the advanced level of decomposition, the medical examiner was unable to identify a cause of death. Their preliminary report gave findings that no visible injuries were observed, nor were any healing or healed injuries observable, according to the police chief.

"Through our investigation we believe the time of death occurred within the month of November 2020. The medical examiner has not released the full report of the postmortem but has confirmed Kennedy’s identity through DNA analysis," Parlier stated.

"This investigation is ongoing. Officers, Detectives, surrounding law enforcement agencies, social workers, mental health professionals, and many others are hard at work to find answers. What we can assure anyone interested in this case, Kennedy is the center of our universe and will remain so until we have answers."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727450427639.png" alt="-Kennedy Jean Schroer-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>-Kennedy Jean Schroer-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Authorities on Friday reported they positively identified the human remains found on September 11 in the yard of a home in the city of Rose Hill as&nbsp;Kennedy Jean Schroer, according to Rose Hill Police Chief Taylor Parlier."We understand that many in the public might be confused how an arrest in this case has not been made, that is completely understandable, Parlier stated in a media release."What we would like to convey is that we have one chance to gather as much information as possible, to find out what happened to this child and to tell her story. While we understand the desire to hold persons accountable, we need to get this correct and not fast. Releasing too much information might appear to implicate a person or persons who were not involved, so in our search for the truth we need to equally work to protect peoples’ rights."Kennedy Jean Schroer, born on July 14, 2014, was adopted by Crystina and Joe Schroer in November 2018 and is believed to have died in late 2020, according to a statement from Rose Hill, Kansas Police Chief Taylor Parlier.The remains were brought to the Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center for the postmortem. Due to the advanced level of decomposition, the medical examiner was unable to identify a cause of death. Their preliminary report gave findings that no visible injuries were observed, nor were any healing or healed injuries observable, according to the police chief."Through our investigation we believe the time of death occurred within the month of November 2020. The medical examiner has not released the full report of the postmortem but has confirmed Kennedy’s identity through DNA analysis," Parlier stated."This investigation is ongoing. Officers, Detectives, surrounding law enforcement agencies, social workers, mental health professionals, and many others are hard at work to find answers. What we can assure anyone interested in this case, Kennedy is the center of our universe and will remain so until we have answers."

Police Chief on why no arrest after remains found in yard of Kan. home

SALINA—Police in Salina and officials with USD 305 are investigating an alleged threat about a shooting at school dance and have made an arrest.

On Saturday evening, the Salina Police Department became aware of a threat made against Central High School via social media, according to a media release from Salina Police.

 An immediate investigation was undertaken that revealed a 16-year old Central High Student made comments about “shooting everyone at this dance.” 

Further inquiry by officers and school resource officers identified the “dance” to be the Salina Central Homecoming dance. USD305 and school officials were notified, and the juvenile was located by officers away from the school. 

Police arrested the juvenile for alleged criminal threat and transported to the Saline County Jail with eventual transfer to the Juvenile Detention Center in Junction City. 

Based on the investigation, there does not appear to be any further threat to students or staff at Central High, according to Salina Police.

 The Salina Police Department appreciated the collaboration with District and School staff in ensuring the safety of students, and strive for prompt investigations and actions to ensure everyone’s safety.

SALINA—Police in Salina and officials with USD 305 are investigating an alleged threat about a shooting at school dance and have made an arrest.On Saturday evening, the Salina Police Department became aware of a threat made against Central High School via social media, according to a media release from Salina Police. An immediate investigation was undertaken that revealed a 16-year old Central High Student made comments about “shooting everyone at this dance.” Further inquiry by officers and school resource officers identified the “dance” to be the Salina Central Homecoming dance. USD305 and school officials were notified, and the juvenile was located by officers away from the school. Police arrested the juvenile for alleged criminal threat and transported to the Saline County Jail with eventual transfer to the Juvenile Detention Center in Junction City. Based on the investigation, there does not appear to be any further threat to students or staff at Central High, according to Salina Police. The Salina Police Department appreciated the collaboration with District and School staff in ensuring the safety of students, and strive for prompt investigations and actions to ensure everyone’s safety.

Police: Kan. high school student made threat to shoot up school dance

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement and fire officials investigating a fire at a Kansas home have made an arrest.

Just before 5:30p.m. Thursday, crews&nbsp;were dispatched to a reported house fire at 716 SW Polk Street in Topeka, according to department spokesperson Rosie Nichols.&nbsp; First arriving units found heavy fire and smoke coming from the rear of a multi-unit residential building. 

Crews quickly extinguished the fire keeping all damage contained to the building where the fire started.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Investigators determined the the fire was intentionally set. The total dollar loss is $25,000.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Topeka Police Department along with the Topeka Fire Department officials also arrested 28-year-old Alisha M Doty on a requested charge off Aggravated Arson.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727433692275.png" alt="Doty-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Doty-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement and fire officials investigating a fire at a Kansas home have made an arrest.Just before 5:30p.m. Thursday, crews&nbsp;were dispatched to a reported house fire at 716 SW Polk Street in Topeka, according to department spokesperson Rosie Nichols.&nbsp; First arriving units found heavy fire and smoke coming from the rear of a multi-unit residential building. Crews quickly extinguished the fire keeping all damage contained to the building where the fire started.&nbsp;&nbsp;Investigators determined the the fire was intentionally set. The total dollar loss is $25,000.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Topeka Police Department along with the Topeka Fire Department officials also arrested 28-year-old Alisha M Doty on a requested charge off Aggravated Arson.

Kansas woman accused of starting house fire

KANSAS CITY —A woman is accused of stealing nearly $26,000 worth of candles from a store on the Country Club Plaza.

Employees contacted police to report 25-year-old Destiny Moore and another person entered the store where she and the other suspect had previously shoplifted from the store.

Officers responded and arrested both. Court documents shows officers recovered a total of 30 candles, worth nearly $700 from&nbsp; Moore and the other person.

According to court records, Moore is accused of shoplifting more than two dozen times at stores across the Kansas City area since April. She sometimes worked alone, while other times worked with accomplices.

Moore is accused of shoplifting from stores across the metro, often stealing hundreds of dollars worth of candles at a time.

A probable cause statement outlined the dates of Moore’s alleged shoplifting:

Moore made her first appearance in court Sept. 23.&nbsp; She remains jailed on Jackson County.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727141858666.png" alt="Moore -photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Moore -photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A woman is accused of stealing nearly $26,000 worth of candles from a store on the Country Club Plaza.Employees contacted police to report 25-year-old Destiny Moore and another person entered the store where she and the other suspect had previously shoplifted from the store.Officers responded and arrested both. Court documents shows officers recovered a total of 30 candles, worth nearly $700 from&nbsp; Moore and the other person.According to court records, Moore is accused of shoplifting more than two dozen times at stores across the Kansas City area since April. She sometimes worked alone, while other times worked with accomplices.Moore is accused of shoplifting from stores across the metro, often stealing hundreds of dollars worth of candles at a time.A probable cause statement outlined the dates of Moore’s alleged shoplifting:<ul>
 <li>April 28, Accused of stealing 47 candles worth nearly $1,300</li><li>Accused of stealing 47 candles worth nearly $1,300</li><li>May 1, Accused of stealing 20 candles worth $540</li><li>Accused of stealing 20 candles worth $540</li><li>May 13, Accused of stealing 18 candles worth $545</li><li>Accused of stealing 18 candles worth $545</li><li>May 14, Accused of stealing 30 candles worth more than $800</li><li>Accused of stealing 30 candles worth more than $800</li><li>May 31, Accused of stealing 50 candles worth nearly $1,350</li><li>Accused of stealing 50 candles worth nearly $1,350</li><li>June 6, Accused of stealing 23 candles worth $560</li><li>Accused of stealing 23 candles worth $560</li><li>June 13, Accused of stealing 51 candles worth $1,100</li><li>Accused of stealing 51 candles worth $1,100</li><li>June 17, Accused of stealing 78 candles worth $2,000</li><li>Accused of stealing 78 candles worth $2,000</li><li>June 21, Accused of stealing 74 candles worth $2,018.30</li><li>Accused of stealing 74 candles worth $2,018.30</li><li>June 26, Accused of stealing 46 candles worth $1,176.70</li><li>Accused of stealing 46 candles worth $1,176.70</li><li>July 2, Accused of stealing 17 candles worth $458.15</li><li>Accused of stealing 17 candles worth $458.15</li><li>July 18, Accused of stealing 20 candles worth $539</li><li>Accused of stealing 20 candles worth $539</li><li>July 20, Accused of stealing 41 candles worth $950.95</li><li>Accused of stealing 41 candles worth $950.95</li><li>July 21, Accused of stealing 65 candles worth $1,751.75</li><li>Accused of stealing 65 candles worth $1,751.75</li><li>July 23, Accused of stealing 75 candles worth $2,021.25</li><li>Accused of stealing 75 candles worth $2,021.25</li><li>July 24, Accused of stealing 50 candles worth $1,347.50</li><li>Accused of stealing 50 candles worth $1,347.50</li><li>July 27, Accused of stealing 12 candles worth $215.40</li><li>Accused of stealing 12 candles worth $215.40</li><li>July 30, Accused of stealing 3 candles worth $80.85</li><li>Accused of stealing 3 candles worth $80.85</li><li>August 1, Accused of stealing 16 candles worth $312.20</li><li>Accused of stealing 16 candles worth $312.20</li><li>August 4, Accused of stealing 25 candles worth $573.75</li><li>Accused of stealing 25 candles worth $573.75</li><li>August 6, Accused of stealing 60 candles worth $1,617.00</li><li>Accused of stealing 60 candles worth $1,617.00</li><li>August 18, Accused of stealing 20 candles worth $539.00</li><li>Accused of stealing 20 candles worth $539.00</li><li>September 2, Accused of stealing 42 candles worth $1,308.00</li><li>Accused of stealing 42 candles worth $1,308.00</li><li>September 6, Accused of stealing 40 candles worth $1,078.00</li><li>Accused of stealing 40 candles worth $1,078.00</li><li>September 12, Accused of stealing 25 candles for $673.75</li><li>Accused of stealing 25 candles for $673.75</li><li>September 20, Accused of stealing 22 candles worth $446.90</li><li>Accused of stealing 22 candles worth $446.90</li><li>September 21, Accused of stealing 30 candles worth $694.50</li><li>Accused of stealing 30 candles worth $694.50</li>
 </ul>Moore made her first appearance in court Sept. 23.&nbsp; She remains jailed on Jackson County.

KC woman jailed for stealing thousands of dollars worth of candles

JACKSON COUNTY– Law enforcement are investigating a wanted suspect on new drug allegations.&nbsp;

Just after 3:30 p.m. September 26, a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a Ford Taurus for multiple alleged traffic infractions near 118th road on U.S. Hwy 75, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

During the course of the traffic stop, a K9 detected the odor of illegal drugs or narcotics within the vehicle. A passenger of the vehicle was identified as Steven Christopher Lee, 49, of Topeka.&nbsp; It was discovered Lee was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service. &nbsp;A probable cause search was conducted of the vehicle and resulted in the discovery of methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia.

Lee was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727431578389.png" alt="Lee-photo Jackson County" />
 <figcaption>Lee-photo Jackson County</figcaption>
 </figure>JACKSON COUNTY– Law enforcement are investigating a wanted suspect on new drug allegations.&nbsp;Just after 3:30 p.m. September 26, a Sheriff’s Deputy conducted a traffic stop on a Ford Taurus for multiple alleged traffic infractions near 118th road on U.S. Hwy 75, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.During the course of the traffic stop, a K9 detected the odor of illegal drugs or narcotics within the vehicle. A passenger of the vehicle was identified as Steven Christopher Lee, 49, of Topeka.&nbsp; It was discovered Lee was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service. &nbsp;A probable cause search was conducted of the vehicle and resulted in the discovery of methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia.Lee was arrested and booked into the Jackson County Jail on requested charges of possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

Suspect wanted by U.S. Marshals captured during Kan. traffic stop

DOUGLAS, Ariz. (AP) — Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a>&nbsp;walked a scrubby stretch of fence line along Arizona’s border with Mexico on Friday, seeking to project an image of strength against illegal migration as she confronts one of her biggest vulnerabilities in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024">the November election</a>.

In her first trip to the international boundary since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris chatted with local Border Patrol leaders as they strode along a rust-colored stretch of wall built during Barack Obama’s presidency. Temperatures in Douglas, Arizona, neared 100 degrees during a conversation that lasted about half an hour.

“They’ve got a tough job, and they need, rightly, support to do their job,” Harris said of the Border Patrol as she entered the Douglas port of entry for a briefing on efforts to block the flow of fentanyl across the border. “They are very dedicated. And so I’m here to talk with them about what we can continue to do to support them. And also thank them for the hard work they do.”

Later, she was expected to call for further tightening asylum restrictions, moving beyond President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden’s</a>&nbsp;policy on an issue where her rival, former President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>, has an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/harris-trump-economy-poll-inflation-dc80ac9e5d7da42900762910d5f0a283">edge with voters</a>. Hundreds of people packed into a gymnasium to hear her speak.

Trump and his fellow Republicans have pounded Harris relentlessly over the Biden administration’s record on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/immigration">migration</a>&nbsp;and fault the vice president for spending little time visiting the border during her time in the White House.

Harris will outline her plan to crack down further on asylum claims and keep the restrictions in place longer compared to the executive order that Biden signed this summer, according to a campaign official who spoke on condition of anonymity because Harris had not yet made the announcement. The official briefed reporters aboard Air Force 2 en route to Arizona.

Harris arrived by helicopter in Douglas, where she met with Mayor Donald Huish, Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels and County Supervisor Ann English, along with Sen. Mark Kelly and Attorney General Kris Mayes.

Immigration and border security are top issues in Arizona, the only battleground state that borders Mexico and one that contended with a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lukeville-arizona-border-crossing-closed-ae04e8c861a95e98dbfc8d49244cf092">record influx</a>&nbsp;of asylum seekers last year. Voters&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/harris-border-arizona-trip-trump-immigration-7f69b21e927319ef48e854e9305a9a3c">favor Trump</a>&nbsp;on migration, and Harris has gone on offense to improve her standing on the issue and defuse a key line of political attack for Trump.

In nearly every campaign speech she gives, Harris recounts how a sweeping bipartisan package aiming to overhaul the federal immigration system&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-ukraine-aid-border-security-386dcc54b29a5491f8bd87b727a284f8">collapsed in Congress</a>&nbsp;earlier this year after Trump urged top Republicans to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-border-security-ukraine-trump-a8601ec6629ddc5b769028ca99ad9879">oppose it</a>.

“The American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games,” Harris plans to say, according to an excerpt of her remarks previewed by her campaign.

After the immigration legislation stalled, the Biden administration announced rules that bar&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-asylum-ban-halt-border-mexico-1905e3565b2da1cffb8f38a778c07118">migrants from being granted asylum</a>&nbsp;when U.S. officials deem that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/region/us-mexico-border/" target="_blank">the southern border</a>&nbsp;is overwhelmed. Since then,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/border-customs-mexico-immigration-041678cab8c135cf60757f0a99f11b47">arrests for illegal border crossings have fallen</a>.

Harris will also use her trip to remind voters about her work as attorney general of California in confronting crime along the border. During an August rally in Glendale, outside Phoenix, she talked about helping to prosecute drug- and people-smuggling gangs that operated transnationally and at the border.

“I prosecuted them in case after case, and I won,” Harris said then.

The vice president’s trip to Douglas thrusts the issue of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-texas-migrants-a378073ed4e565570b4d4aa20f3a9ff8">immigration into the brightest spotlight</a>&nbsp;yet less than six weeks before Election Day.

Trump didn’t wait for her to arrive there before pushing back. He pointed Friday to purported data about criminals entering the U.S. illegally in a bid to link Harris to violent crimes committed by migrants. In a scathing diatribe, he said “blood is on her hands.”

“These are hard, tough, vicious criminals that are free to roam in our country,” Trump said at a manufacturing plant in Michigan.

Earlier in the week, he told voters that “when Kamala speaks about the border, her credibility is less than zero.”

The Trump campaign has also countered with its own TV ads deriding the vice president as a failed “border czar.”

“Under Harris, over 10 million illegally here,” said one spot. However, estimates on how many people have entered the country illegally since the start of the Biden administration in 2021 vary widely.

Harris also never held the position of border czar. Instead, her&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-3400f56255e000547d1ca3ce1aa6b8e9">assignment</a>&nbsp;was to tackle the “root causes” of migration from three Central American nations — El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras — that were responsible for a significant share of border crossers.

The vice president took a long-term approach to an immediate problem, helping persuade multinational corporations and Latin American businesses to invest in the region. That, she argued, would create jobs and give locals more reasons to stay home rather than take the arduous trek north.

Still, Trump has continued to decry an “invasion” of border crossers.

Douglas, where Harris appeared, is an overwhelmingly Democratic border town in GOP-dominated Cochise County, where the Republicans on the board of supervisors are facing criminal charges for refusing to certify the 2022 election results. Trump was in the area last month, using a remote stretch of border wall and a pile of steel beams to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-border-mexico-immigration-a38e69068d0484d4adedf7a8a8c7d973">draw a contrast</a>&nbsp;between himself and Harris on border security.

The town of 16,000 people has strong ties to its much larger neighbor, Agua Prieta, Mexico, and a busy port of entry that’s slated for a long-sought upgrade. Many locals are as concerned with making legal border crossings more efficient as they are with combatting illegal ones.

DOUGLAS, Ariz. (AP) — Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/kamala-harris">Kamala Harris</a>&nbsp;walked a scrubby stretch of fence line along Arizona’s border with Mexico on Friday, seeking to project an image of strength against illegal migration as she confronts one of her biggest vulnerabilities in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024">the November election</a>.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">.<a href="https://twitter.com/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@vp</a> Kamala Harris at the Southern Border in Arizona <a href="https://t.co/QpI9m2mlk1">pic.twitter.com/QpI9m2mlk1</a>&mdash; CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1839810842356842573?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>In her first trip to the international boundary since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris chatted with local Border Patrol leaders as they strode along a rust-colored stretch of wall built during Barack Obama’s presidency. Temperatures in Douglas, Arizona, neared 100 degrees during a conversation that lasted about half an hour.“They’ve got a tough job, and they need, rightly, support to do their job,” Harris said of the Border Patrol as she entered the Douglas port of entry for a briefing on efforts to block the flow of fentanyl across the border. “They are very dedicated. And so I’m here to talk with them about what we can continue to do to support them. And also thank them for the hard work they do.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727485637215.png" alt="Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>Later, she was expected to call for further tightening asylum restrictions, moving beyond President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/joe-biden">Joe Biden’s</a>&nbsp;policy on an issue where her rival, former President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>, has an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/harris-trump-economy-poll-inflation-dc80ac9e5d7da42900762910d5f0a283">edge with voters</a>. Hundreds of people packed into a gymnasium to hear her speak.Trump and his fellow Republicans have pounded Harris relentlessly over the Biden administration’s record on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/immigration">migration</a>&nbsp;and fault the vice president for spending little time visiting the border during her time in the White House.Harris will outline her plan to crack down further on asylum claims and keep the restrictions in place longer compared to the executive order that Biden signed this summer, according to a campaign official who spoke on condition of anonymity because Harris had not yet made the announcement. The official briefed reporters aboard Air Force 2 en route to Arizona.Harris arrived by helicopter in Douglas, where she met with Mayor Donald Huish, Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels and County Supervisor Ann English, along with Sen. Mark Kelly and Attorney General Kris Mayes.Immigration and border security are top issues in Arizona, the only battleground state that borders Mexico and one that contended with a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/lukeville-arizona-border-crossing-closed-ae04e8c861a95e98dbfc8d49244cf092">record influx</a>&nbsp;of asylum seekers last year. Voters&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/harris-border-arizona-trip-trump-immigration-7f69b21e927319ef48e854e9305a9a3c">favor Trump</a>&nbsp;on migration, and Harris has gone on offense to improve her standing on the issue and defuse a key line of political attack for Trump.In nearly every campaign speech she gives, Harris recounts how a sweeping bipartisan package aiming to overhaul the federal immigration system&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-ukraine-aid-border-security-386dcc54b29a5491f8bd87b727a284f8">collapsed in Congress</a>&nbsp;earlier this year after Trump urged top Republicans to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/congress-border-security-ukraine-trump-a8601ec6629ddc5b769028ca99ad9879">oppose it</a>.“The American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games,” Harris plans to say, according to an excerpt of her remarks previewed by her campaign.After the immigration legislation stalled, the Biden administration announced rules that bar&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-asylum-ban-halt-border-mexico-1905e3565b2da1cffb8f38a778c07118">migrants from being granted asylum</a>&nbsp;when U.S. officials deem that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ap.org/news-highlights/region/us-mexico-border/" target="_blank">the southern border</a>&nbsp;is overwhelmed. Since then,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/border-customs-mexico-immigration-041678cab8c135cf60757f0a99f11b47">arrests for illegal border crossings have fallen</a>.Harris will also use her trip to remind voters about her work as attorney general of California in confronting crime along the border. During an August rally in Glendale, outside Phoenix, she talked about helping to prosecute drug- and people-smuggling gangs that operated transnationally and at the border.“I prosecuted them in case after case, and I won,” Harris said then.The vice president’s trip to Douglas thrusts the issue of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/immigration-border-texas-migrants-a378073ed4e565570b4d4aa20f3a9ff8">immigration into the brightest spotlight</a>&nbsp;yet less than six weeks before Election Day.Trump didn’t wait for her to arrive there before pushing back. He pointed Friday to purported data about criminals entering the U.S. illegally in a bid to link Harris to violent crimes committed by migrants. In a scathing diatribe, he said “blood is on her hands.”“These are hard, tough, vicious criminals that are free to roam in our country,” Trump said at a manufacturing plant in Michigan.Earlier in the week, he told voters that “when Kamala speaks about the border, her credibility is less than zero.”The Trump campaign has also countered with its own TV ads deriding the vice president as a failed “border czar.”“Under Harris, over 10 million illegally here,” said one spot. However, estimates on how many people have entered the country illegally since the start of the Biden administration in 2021 vary widely.Harris also never held the position of border czar. Instead, her&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-3400f56255e000547d1ca3ce1aa6b8e9">assignment</a>&nbsp;was to tackle the “root causes” of migration from three Central American nations — El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras — that were responsible for a significant share of border crossers.The vice president took a long-term approach to an immediate problem, helping persuade multinational corporations and Latin American businesses to invest in the region. That, she argued, would create jobs and give locals more reasons to stay home rather than take the arduous trek north.Still, Trump has continued to decry an “invasion” of border crossers.Douglas, where Harris appeared, is an overwhelmingly Democratic border town in GOP-dominated Cochise County, where the Republicans on the board of supervisors are facing criminal charges for refusing to certify the 2022 election results. Trump was in the area last month, using a remote stretch of border wall and a pile of steel beams to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-border-mexico-immigration-a38e69068d0484d4adedf7a8a8c7d973">draw a contrast</a>&nbsp;between himself and Harris on border security.The town of 16,000 people has strong ties to its much larger neighbor, Agua Prieta, Mexico, and a busy port of entry that’s slated for a long-sought upgrade. Many locals are as concerned with making legal border crossings more efficient as they are with combatting illegal ones.

🎥Harris visits US-Mexico border to project tougher stance on migration

SEDGWICK COUNTY —Authorities have positively identified the human remains found on September 11 in the yard of a home in the city of Rose Hill.

Her remains were brought to the Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center for the postmortem. Due to the advanced level of decomposition, the medical examiner was unable to identify a cause of death. Their preliminary report gave findings that no visible injuries were observed, nor were any healing or healed injuries observable, according to the police chief.

"Through our investigation we believe the time of death occurred within the month of November 2020. The medical examiner has not released the full report of the postmortem but has confirmed Kennedy’s identity through DNA analysis."

"We understand that many in the public might be confused how an arrest in this case has not been made, that is completely understandable. What we would like to convey is that we have one chance to gather as much information as possible, to find out what happened to this child and to tell her story. While we understand the desire to hold persons accountable, we need to get this correct and not fast. Releasing too much information might appear to implicate a person or persons who were not involved, so in our search for the truth we need to equally work to protect peoples’ rights."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727450427639.png" alt="-Kennedy Jean Schroer-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>-Kennedy Jean Schroer-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY —Authorities have positively identified the human remains found on September 11 in the yard of a home in the city of Rose Hill.Kennedy Jean Schroer, born on July 14, 2014, was adopted by Crystina and Joe Schroer in November 2018 and is believed to have died in late 2020, according to a statement from Rose Hill, Kansas Police Chief Taylor Parlier.Her remains were brought to the Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center for the postmortem. Due to the advanced level of decomposition, the medical examiner was unable to identify a cause of death. Their preliminary report gave findings that no visible injuries were observed, nor were any healing or healed injuries observable, according to the police chief."Through our investigation we believe the time of death occurred within the month of November 2020. The medical examiner has not released the full report of the postmortem but has confirmed Kennedy’s identity through DNA analysis.""We understand that many in the public might be confused how an arrest in this case has not been made, that is completely understandable. What we would like to convey is that we have one chance to gather as much information as possible, to find out what happened to this child and to tell her story. While we understand the desire to hold persons accountable, we need to get this correct and not fast. Releasing too much information might appear to implicate a person or persons who were not involved, so in our search for the truth we need to equally work to protect peoples’ rights.""This investigation is ongoing. Officers, Detectives, surrounding law enforcement agencies, social workers, mental health professionals, and many others are hard at work to find answers. What we can assure anyone interested in this case, Kennedy is the center of our universe and will remain so until we have answers."

Police ID child's remains found in back yard of Kan. home

RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement are investigating a registered Kansas Offender on new allegations.

Just after noon Thursday, police arrested 54-year-old Adrian Watson of Manhattan in the 3100 block of Anderson Avenue, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.

 Watson was arrested on the probable cause offense of driving while license cancelled and violation of the offender registration act.

Watson is being held on a bond of $5,750. He has been listed as a registered offender since 2012 after a conviction for attempted kidnapping in Manhattan in 2009, according to the Kansas Department Corrections.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727447337731.png" alt="Watson photo KBI Offender Registry" />
 <figcaption>Watson photo KBI Offender Registry</figcaption>
 </figure>RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement are investigating a registered Kansas Offender on new allegations.Just after noon Thursday, police arrested 54-year-old Adrian Watson of Manhattan in the 3100 block of Anderson Avenue, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report. Watson was arrested on the probable cause offense of driving while license cancelled and violation of the offender registration act.Watson is being held on a bond of $5,750. He has been listed as a registered offender since 2012 after a conviction for attempted kidnapping in Manhattan in 2009, according to the Kansas Department Corrections.

Kansas registered offender jailed on new allegations

LYON COUNTY —Police departments and school districts across Kansas continue to investigate online school threats and make arrests.

At USD 253 in Emporia, it was reported that a student, in an email, had threatened to bring a gun to school on Thursday and was warning other students not to attend school that day.&nbsp;

Officers located the student making the threats. It was determined the student did not have access to any firearms and no students were at risk.&nbsp;The case will be referred to the Lyon County Attorney’s Office for their review on possible charges.

At USD 428 in Great Bend,&nbsp;Superintendent Khris Thexton alerted district families and staff that another social media threat was reported directly to Great Bend Police Department on the evening of&nbsp; Sept. 25.&nbsp; Police determined the threat was not true.

"We are relieved to report that law enforcement officers determined this threat poses no danger to our students."

On Tuesday, Salina South Middle School administration and officers with the Salina Police Department responded to a threat made by a student against the school.&nbsp;&nbsp;The incident took place during the fourth period, around the noon hour, and involved a 13-year-old student who made threatening remarks to other students.

According to Salina Police Captain David Villanueva, the student told classmates not to come to school the next day because there would be a shooting. These comments were corroborated through an investigation by the school's resource officer and staff, who spoke to multiple students.

As a result, the student was arrested and taken to the juvenile detention facility in Junction City on charges of criminal threat.

In Ellis on Thursday, police arrested a 14-year-old for allegedly making a school threat, according to a press release Police Chief Avery Smith.&nbsp; USD 388 and police realized the threat was a hoax and not an active threat. The case was referred to the county attorney for charges.

USD 428 Superintendent Thexton reminded, "It’s also an important to never “share” a threat on social media. Instead, take a screenshot and report it to the police or school officials."

LYON COUNTY —Police departments and school districts across Kansas continue to investigate online school threats and make arrests.At USD 253 in Emporia, it was reported that a student, in an email, had threatened to bring a gun to school on Thursday and was warning other students not to attend school that day.&nbsp;Officers located the student making the threats. It was determined the student did not have access to any firearms and no students were at risk.&nbsp;The case will be referred to the Lyon County Attorney’s Office for their review on possible charges.At USD 428 in Great Bend,&nbsp;Superintendent Khris Thexton alerted district families and staff that another social media threat was reported directly to Great Bend Police Department on the evening of&nbsp; Sept. 25.&nbsp; Police determined the threat was not true."We are relieved to report that law enforcement officers determined this threat poses no danger to our students."On Tuesday, Salina South Middle School administration and officers with the Salina Police Department responded to a threat made by a student against the school.&nbsp;&nbsp;The incident took place during the fourth period, around the noon hour, and involved a 13-year-old student who made threatening remarks to other students.According to Salina Police Captain David Villanueva, the student told classmates not to come to school the next day because there would be a shooting. These comments were corroborated through an investigation by the school's resource officer and staff, who spoke to multiple students.As a result, the student was arrested and taken to the juvenile detention facility in Junction City on charges of criminal threat.In Ellis on Thursday, police arrested a 14-year-old for allegedly making a school threat, according to a press release Police Chief Avery Smith.&nbsp; USD 388 and police realized the threat was a hoax and not an active threat. The case was referred to the county attorney for charges.USD 428 Superintendent Thexton reminded, "It’s also an important to never “share” a threat on social media. Instead, take a screenshot and report it to the police or school officials."

Police across Kansas continue to investigate alleged school threats

PAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspect for allegedly selling drugs.

On Tuesday, sheriff's deputies and police&nbsp;executed a search warrant after the culmination of a several weeks narcotics investigation, according to a media release from the Pawnee County Sheriff.

As a result of the search warrant, deputies seized over a pound of marijuana, more than $4,000 in cash and arrested two suspects for crimes related to the distribution of narcotics. Additional arrests are anticipated. The Larned Police Department participated in the raid and Pawnee County EMS was on standby, according to the Sheriff's Office.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727261591009.png" alt="Photo Pawnee Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Photo Pawnee Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>PAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspect for allegedly selling drugs.On Tuesday, sheriff's deputies and police&nbsp;executed a search warrant after the culmination of a several weeks narcotics investigation, according to a media release from the Pawnee County Sheriff.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727261570441.png" alt="Photo Pawnee Co. Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Photo Pawnee Co. Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>As a result of the search warrant, deputies seized over a pound of marijuana, more than $4,000 in cash and arrested two suspects for crimes related to the distribution of narcotics. Additional arrests are anticipated. The Larned Police Department participated in the raid and Pawnee County EMS was on standby, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Deputies seize cash, marijuana after drug bust at Kansas home

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement investigating an armed carjacking and have made two arrests.

Just before 6p.m. Tuesday, an armed carjacking occurred on southbound Interstate 49, south at the 163rd Street exit in Belton, approximately 20 minutes south of Kansas City.

A dark blue Kia Optima occupied by three suspects rear-ended a 2022 Dodge Charger driven by a victim, who was the sole occupant.

Both drivers pulled over. While checking the rear of the Dodge Charger, one of the occupants from the Kia entered the victim’s Dodge Charger and fled the scene. 

A check of the Kia Optima license plate revealed it was a stolen vehicle.&nbsp; Police reported on Wednesday that two are in custody.&nbsp; Names of the suspects and possible charges have not been release.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727306331271.png" alt="Photo Belton Police" />
 <figcaption>Photo Belton Police</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement investigating an armed carjacking and have made two arrests.Just before 6p.m. Tuesday, an armed carjacking occurred on southbound Interstate 49, south at the 163rd Street exit in Belton, approximately 20 minutes south of Kansas City.A dark blue Kia Optima occupied by three suspects rear-ended a 2022 Dodge Charger driven by a victim, who was the sole occupant.Both drivers pulled over. While checking the rear of the Dodge Charger, one of the occupants from the Kia entered the victim’s Dodge Charger and fled the scene. A check of the Kia Optima license plate revealed it was a stolen vehicle.&nbsp; Police reported on Wednesday that two are in custody.&nbsp; Names of the suspects and possible charges have not been release.

2 in custody for armed carjacking after KC area rear-end crash

WASHINGTON (AP) — The acting director of the Secret Service was incensed at what had happened that July evening. “What I saw made me ashamed,” Ronald Rowe Jr. said. “I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured.”

<a href="https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/USSS-HSGAC-Interim-Report-Executive-Summary.pdf">Click here to read </a>the full report

The unguarded roof, easily within shooting distance of the rally stage, is just one of the myriad questions behind the worst Secret Service security failure in decades. The more that investigators unpack from that day, the more missed opportunities that could have prevented the attack are revealed.

As the United States grapples with a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-assassination-attempt-fee81d8bcf737bfcde2ee8e5cea88465">second attempt</a>&nbsp;on Donald Trump’s life, in Florida, there remains a reckoning to be done from the Pennsylvania shooting on July 13 that killed one man and wounded three — the ex-president among them.

The Secret Service is a well-funded, historically elite force with a mission to keep presidents and other higher-ups safe — whether they're out for a bicycle ride, attending a world summit, visiting a war zone or campaigning.

But at the farm show grounds, a young nursing home aide with a rifle he borrowed from his dad outmaneuvered authorities for more than 90 minutes before firing the shots that came millimeters from killing Trump. More than two months later, everyone still wants to know:

—When rallygoers reported a man skittering on the squat rooftop of a nearby building, why didn’t anyone in law enforcement move faster?

—Why did the Secret Service exclude that building from its security perimeter, leaving it to local police, and why did the local force not station someone on the roof?

—Why could local law enforcement agencies not communicate in real time with Secret Service agents when they’re supposed to be working together?

—Why did the Secret Service decline offers by local police to use their surveillance drone at the site? And why did Secret Service agents not deploy a system that would have told them an unauthorized drone was aloft — the gunman's — until it was too late?

One overarching question may never be answered. And in these poisonous times, with the November presidential election closing in and a second attempt on Trump’s life just days in the past, it is urgent: What possessed 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks to try to kill the former president? The public is no closer to that answer than in the immediate aftermath.

This anatomy of an attempted assassination is based on an AP review of dozens of documents, text messages and video, a congressional report and a Secret Service report on the failures, plus interviews on the record and from law enforcement officials who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss investigations that are still getting going.

Rowe sat there under the bright lights, his mouth pressed into a thin line. His voice was thick with anger as senators laid into him and his agents — questioning how on Earth some guy was able to get on top of a nearby roof as the rally was going on and fire off eight rounds, grazing Trump’s ear and ripping into three others, killing one of them.

Rowe’s voice grew louder at the July 30 Senate hearing as he squared off with lawmakers who wanted him to fire somebody — anybody — who had been on the ground that day. It wasn’t enough for them that the agency's chief, Kim Cheatle, had resigned a week earlier. But Rowe dug in.

“I will not rush to judgment," he said, snapping at a senator. “People will be held accountable, and I will do so with integrity.”

He wasn’t blaming anyone in particular, though he did throw some not-so-subtle shade at the Pennsylvania police officers who were supposed to be guarding the building complex in question.

But he also wasn’t trying to play down his agency's epic failure as it became slowly clearer to local officers that Crooks wasn’t just an oddball with a backpack. Local police did finger-pointing of their own, citing communications breakdowns that began when the face-to-face meeting the Secret Service said would happen with them before the event never did.

Secret Service agents in the line of duty have been equipped since the 1940s with various gadgets enabling them to communicate remotely in real time. Back when everyday people had to find a phone booth, these agents could be seen wearing wired earbuds or talking up their sleeves.

Yet when a man outside the perimeter of metal detectors and Secret Service scrutiny raised suspicions, then fears, then his rifle on the roof, the agency's local police backups could not get word directly to the agents closest to Trump or the federal snipers on other rooftops in time to hustle him off the stage or take down the gunman.

Last week, the Secret Service released a five-page document summarizing conclusions in a report not yet completed. Among the findings: The Secret Service did not give clear guidance to local law enforcement partners at the rally. It did not correct line-of-sight problems that left Trump open to sniper fire. And some of the agents on duty that day were complacent.

A bipartisan report from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee made public Wednesday was more blunt if not scathing. It found “USSS failures in planning, communications, security, and allocation of resources for the July 13, 2024, Butler rally were foreseeable, preventable, and directly related to the events resulting in the assassination attempt that day.”

Before the shooting, everything felt typical

It was designed to be a typical Trump rally — outdoors at the Butler Farm Show grounds with big red barns, wide-open fields and bleacher seating.

Butler County, on the western edge of a presidential swing state, is a Trump stronghold. In a place where turnout hovers around an impressive 80%, Trump won with about 66% of the vote in both 2016 and 2020. The rural area north of Pittsburgh has notoriously bad cell service, which made police communications even worse in the crisis to come. The Secret Service did not bring a system to boost device signals in such places.

Three days after the rally was announced, Crooks registered to attend. He also searched online for “how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?”

Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, while he was riding in an open convertible. Oswald concealed himself on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. The Warren Commission determined he was 265.3 feet from Kennedy when he fired the fatal shot.

Crooks would fire from about double that distance. But guns have evolved since then, and the AR-style weapon Crooks borrowed from his father shoots faster and more easily than anything Oswald had on him.

On July 7, Crooks made the trip from his Bethel Park home, just south of Pittsburgh, to the Butler Farm Show grounds, and was there for about 20 minutes. FBI investigators say he was casing the area. The day before the rally, he practiced shooting at a local sports club.

On July 13, he returned to the grounds and stayed for about 70 minutes before going home. At 1:30 p.m., his dad gave him the rifle, thinking his son was headed back to the club to practice shooting. Twenty-five minutes later Crooks was buying 50 rounds of ammunition.

He parked at a gas station lot about a third of a mile from the rally, dressed in camo shorts, a black belt and a gray T-shirt with the logo of a YouTube channel dedicated to firearms. He rode a bicycle to the grounds and carried a big backpack.

Agents have cracked into his phone, searched his laptop and interviewed hundreds of people. Yet the FBI says his motive remains unknown.

Crooks was described by classmates at Bethel Park High School as smart but standoffish, often seen wearing headphones and sitting alone at lunch looking at his phone. Some said he was often mocked by other students for the clothes he wore, which included hunting outfits, and for wearing a mask even after the COVID-19 pandemic had subsided.

“He sat by himself, didn’t talk to anyone, didn’t even try to make conversation,” said 17-year-old Liam Campbell, echoing the comments of classmates who remembered the shooter. “He was an odd kid,” but nothing about him seemed dangerous, he added. “Just a normal person who seemed like he didn’t like talking to people."

After graduating high school in 2022, Crooks went on to the Community College of Allegheny County, earning an associate’s degree with honors in engineering science this past May. He also worked at a nursing home as a dietary aide.

Crooks had been registered as a Republican voter, according to state records. But there was also a $15 donation to a progressive group recorded under “Thomas Crooks” in January 2021.

Authorities received many reports beforehand

There were roughly 155 law enforcement officers at the rally that day. That included a Secret Service counter-sniper team, a Butler County SWAT team and uniformed officers. Hundreds of Trump supporters gathered to hear him speak.

The FBI says that after Crooks turned up at the site on that sunny Saturday afternoon, he flew a drone for about 11 minutes up and around the area and was getting the view directly on the controller he used. The Secret Service did not deploy its drone-detection system until later in the afternoon. And the advance team that scouts the venue ahead of time requested additional technology before the rally, but those requests were denied.

The first reported sighting of Crooks was at 4:26 p.m., more than 1½ hours before Trump would begin speaking. A Beaver County sniper team member noticed Crooks at a picnic table, thought he was acting suspiciously, and alerted other local snipers who were posted inside the AGR building complex. “He knows you guys are up there,” the sniper texted the others. “He’s sitting to the direct right on a picnic table about 50 yards from the exit.”

At 5:38 p.m., a Beaver County sniper, stationed inside the building where Crooks would later shoot from the roof, sent photos of Crooks to the local team’s group chat. "I did see him with a rangefinder looking towards the stage. If you wanna notify SS snipers to look out. I lost sight of him.” He also said there was a bike with a backpack nearby that wasn’t seen earlier.

Secret Service sniper teams were posted on the roof closest to where Trump was to speak, but officials say the teams were never notified.

At 5:45 p.m., a local sniper recommended that the command post, where team leaders were stationed, be alerted about Crooks. There were two posts; the Secret Service agents were only in one.

“They’re asking for a direction of travel,” one local sniper says.

“Not sure,” Beaver County SWAT sniper Gregory Nicol responded in a message at 6 p.m., about 11 minutes before Crooks would fire. “He was up against the building. If I had to guess toward the back. Away from the event.”

“I assumed that there would be somebody coming out to — you know, to speak with this individual or, you know, find out what’s going on,” Nicol later told ABC News.

The AGR (American Glass Research) complex is a warren of buildings, and Crooks eventually got to the roof of the building closest to the rally site. Nicol was trying to shadow Crooks from within the buildings but lost sight of him.

Footage shows Crooks walking back to his car, parked near where the other local snipers were parked. There were improvised explosive devices inside the car, but no one knew.

Bystanders saw Crooks again shortly after. They took mobile phone video of him pulling himself up to the top of the roof and slithering into position. They called the cops. These rally-goers were on alert for what the authorities either hadn't noticed or hadn't treated with the urgency that might have made a difference. You could say security in this moment was crowdsourced.

By 6:08 p.m., law enforcement had eyes on Crooks again. A Secret Service counter sniper saw law local officers running toward the building with their guns drawn, but he didn't think to alert Trump's protective detail to pull the GOP candidate from the stage.

Three minutes later, a local officer was hoisted up the squat roof by another officer, who saw Crooks with the rifle, laying down and pointing the weapon toward him. “He’s armed,” the officer radioed to his squad. “He’s got a long gun.”

That message did not make it to key Secret Service officials. The shots were fired 30 seconds later.

Trump changed — and didn't — after the attack

Days after the shooting, Trump spent more than 10 minutes of his speech to the Republican National Convention giving vivid detail of what happened to him on the “warm, beautiful day in the early evening in Butler Township in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

The crowd was rapt. Some in it would later don ear bandages like his in a show of support. Even some of Trump's fiercest critics conceded his turn on the stage in Butler had been masterful — raising his fist as blood trickled down his face, mouthing “fight” as he was hustled away.

That episode joins the history books on pages inhabited by Teddy Roosevelt, who was shot in the chest on his way to a campaign address in Milwaukee in 1912 and insisted on giving his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&amp;club_id=991271&amp;module_id=338394">90-minute speech</a>&nbsp;before going to the hospital — an audacious display of Bull Mooseness.

In another 90-minute speech in Milwaukee more than a century later, Trump told his convention “the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life.” It was not an exaggeration, or at least not much of one.

Those who tuned in at the start of his speech saw a man trying, for once, to reach a wider audience than his MAGA millions. “The discord and division in our society must be healed,” Trump said. “We must heal it quickly.”

He proclaimed: “I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America.”

That didn't last long. Most of the rest of his speech returned to standard operating procedure — the bombast, the falsehoods, the depictions of a United States rotting under Democrats.

President Joe Biden, who often cast Trump as a threat to democracy given his refusal to accept his 2020 election loss and his stoking of supporters who rampaged at the Capitol, asked Americans to turn the temperature down.

“Disagreement is inevitable in American democracy,” Biden said from the Oval Office, but politics should never devolve into a “killing field.”

“While we may disagree, we are not enemies,” Biden went on.

The temperature has not cooled since. After the episode at the golf course, Trump and his allies now are trying to lay blame directly on Democratic rhetoric for making him a literal target.

In that case, officials said, the suspect did not get off any shots, never had Trump in his line of sight and fled from the scene after a Secret Service agent spotted and fired at him. He was later captured.

By those measures, it was a more successful security operation than in Butler. Yet the Secret Service, once again, has much to answer for. The man was able to lurk on the perimeter of Trump's property for nearly 12 hours, police said, evading detection as he lay in wait with a rifle, scope, video camera and food.

Investigators have done more than 1,000 interviews. They’ve fielded more than 2,000 tips. In addition to getting into Crooks' phone, they've searched his home and sent the explosive devices found in his car to a lab for testing.

Yet deputy FBI Director Paul Abbate says authorities have had to grapple with a “general absence of other information to date." That means no motive has been identified, no co-conspirators found. The Secret Service shot and killed the gunman on the scene.

Law enforcement officers are trained to look for and assess suspicious-looking people. But they don’t arrest everyone they deem suspicious; most are harmless. On the day of the rally, they were tracking other people as well.

Crooks’ behavior didn’t rise to the level of alarm at first. Secret Service officers only were told about a suspicious person the local authorities were worried about. The counter sniper who saw the officers running with guns drawn never make the connection to get Trump off the stage. In these moments, officers are listening for escalatory words like “threat” or “gun.”

Such words came later, in the final seconds, but the message didn't land. There was no one radio frequency all the multi-agency officers could hop on. Instead, local officers had to radio the joint command center, where the Secret Service would relay messages to Trump's detail.

Even that failed, Rowe told lawmakers. "None of that information ever made it over our net.”

Jason Woods, team leader for Beaver County’s Emergency Services Unit and SWAT sniper section, told ABC News his people had no contact with the agents on Trump’s security detail. “We were supposed to get a face-to-face briefing with the Secret Service members whenever they arrived, and that never happened,” Woods said. “So I think that was probably a pivotal point, where I started thinking things were wrong because it never happened. We had no communication — not until after the shooting.”

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-senate-report-secret-service-50af5692ca1489771144ac399d491e5e">The Senate committee report</a>&nbsp;is only preliminary and promises more details, but plainly states the massive Secret Service failures.

Congressional inquiries are bound to escalate in the hothouse of the presidential campaign and as law enforcement learns more. At the first one, Rowe, the acting Secret Service chief, implied that the local officers might bear some responsibility for the failure, too.

“Controlling high ground is something that’s a must for us whenever we go into a location,” Rowe said. “We made an assumption” that local teams were covering the AGR building.

“If they had just held their post and looked left," Rowe said, his voice trailing off. “Maybe.”

He didn't press the point much. Later, he told a news conference: “This was a Secret Service failure.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1727276767876.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The acting director of the Secret Service was incensed at what had happened that July evening. “What I saw made me ashamed,” Ronald Rowe Jr. said. “I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured.”<a href="https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/USSS-HSGAC-Interim-Report-Executive-Summary.pdf">Click here to read </a>the full reportThe unguarded roof, easily within shooting distance of the rally stage, is just one of the myriad questions behind the worst Secret Service security failure in decades. The more that investigators unpack from that day, the more missed opportunities that could have prevented the attack are revealed.As the United States grapples with a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-assassination-attempt-fee81d8bcf737bfcde2ee8e5cea88465">second attempt</a>&nbsp;on Donald Trump’s life, in Florida, there remains a reckoning to be done from the Pennsylvania shooting on July 13 that killed one man and wounded three — the ex-president among them.The Secret Service is a well-funded, historically elite force with a mission to keep presidents and other higher-ups safe — whether they're out for a bicycle ride, attending a world summit, visiting a war zone or campaigning.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/7/1720913971898.png" alt="Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)" />
 <figcaption>Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)</figcaption>
 </figure>But at the farm show grounds, a young nursing home aide with a rifle he borrowed from his dad outmaneuvered authorities for more than 90 minutes before firing the shots that came millimeters from killing Trump. More than two months later, everyone still wants to know:—When rallygoers reported a man skittering on the squat rooftop of a nearby building, why didn’t anyone in law enforcement move faster?—Why did the Secret Service exclude that building from its security perimeter, leaving it to local police, and why did the local force not station someone on the roof?—Why could local law enforcement agencies not communicate in real time with Secret Service agents when they’re supposed to be working together?—Why did the Secret Service decline offers by local police to use their surveillance drone at the site? And why did Secret Service agents not deploy a system that would have told them an unauthorized drone was aloft — the gunman's — until it was too late?One overarching question may never be answered. And in these poisonous times, with the November presidential election closing in and a second attempt on Trump’s life just days in the past, it is urgent: What possessed 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks to try to kill the former president? The public is no closer to that answer than in the immediate aftermath.This anatomy of an attempted assassination is based on an AP review of dozens of documents, text messages and video, a congressional report and a Secret Service report on the failures, plus interviews on the record and from law enforcement officials who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss investigations that are still getting going.<h2>The Secret Service faces a reckoning</h2>Rowe sat there under the bright lights, his mouth pressed into a thin line. His voice was thick with anger as senators laid into him and his agents — questioning how on Earth some guy was able to get on top of a nearby roof as the rally was going on and fire off eight rounds, grazing Trump’s ear and ripping into three others, killing one of them.Rowe’s voice grew louder at the July 30 Senate hearing as he squared off with lawmakers who wanted him to fire somebody — anybody — who had been on the ground that day. It wasn’t enough for them that the agency's chief, Kim Cheatle, had resigned a week earlier. But Rowe dug in.“I will not rush to judgment," he said, snapping at a senator. “People will be held accountable, and I will do so with integrity.”He wasn’t blaming anyone in particular, though he did throw some not-so-subtle shade at the Pennsylvania police officers who were supposed to be guarding the building complex in question.But he also wasn’t trying to play down his agency's epic failure as it became slowly clearer to local officers that Crooks wasn’t just an oddball with a backpack. Local police did finger-pointing of their own, citing communications breakdowns that began when the face-to-face meeting the Secret Service said would happen with them before the event never did.Secret Service agents in the line of duty have been equipped since the 1940s with various gadgets enabling them to communicate remotely in real time. Back when everyday people had to find a phone booth, these agents could be seen wearing wired earbuds or talking up their sleeves.Yet when a man outside the perimeter of metal detectors and Secret Service scrutiny raised suspicions, then fears, then his rifle on the roof, the agency's local police backups could not get word directly to the agents closest to Trump or the federal snipers on other rooftops in time to hustle him off the stage or take down the gunman.Last week, the Secret Service released a five-page document summarizing conclusions in a report not yet completed. Among the findings: The Secret Service did not give clear guidance to local law enforcement partners at the rally. It did not correct line-of-sight problems that left Trump open to sniper fire. And some of the agents on duty that day were complacent.A bipartisan report from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee made public Wednesday was more blunt if not scathing. It found “USSS failures in planning, communications, security, and allocation of resources for the July 13, 2024, Butler rally were foreseeable, preventable, and directly related to the events resulting in the assassination attempt that day.”<h2>Before the shooting, everything felt typical</h2>It was designed to be a typical Trump rally — outdoors at the Butler Farm Show grounds with big red barns, wide-open fields and bleacher seating.Butler County, on the western edge of a presidential swing state, is a Trump stronghold. In a place where turnout hovers around an impressive 80%, Trump won with about 66% of the vote in both 2016 and 2020. The rural area north of Pittsburgh has notoriously bad cell service, which made police communications even worse in the crisis to come. The Secret Service did not bring a system to boost device signals in such places.Three days after the rally was announced, Crooks registered to attend. He also searched online for “how far away was Oswald from Kennedy?”Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, while he was riding in an open convertible. Oswald concealed himself on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. The Warren Commission determined he was 265.3 feet from Kennedy when he fired the fatal shot.Crooks would fire from about double that distance. But guns have evolved since then, and the AR-style weapon Crooks borrowed from his father shoots faster and more easily than anything Oswald had on him.On July 7, Crooks made the trip from his Bethel Park home, just south of Pittsburgh, to the Butler Farm Show grounds, and was there for about 20 minutes. FBI investigators say he was casing the area. The day before the rally, he practiced shooting at a local sports club.On July 13, he returned to the grounds and stayed for about 70 minutes before going home. At 1:30 p.m., his dad gave him the rifle, thinking his son was headed back to the club to practice shooting. Twenty-five minutes later Crooks was buying 50 rounds of ammunition.He parked at a gas station lot about a third of a mile from the rally, dressed in camo shorts, a black belt and a gray T-shirt with the logo of a YouTube channel dedicated to firearms. He rode a bicycle to the grounds and carried a big backpack.Agents have cracked into his phone, searched his laptop and interviewed hundreds of people. Yet the FBI says his motive remains unknown.Crooks was described by classmates at Bethel Park High School as smart but standoffish, often seen wearing headphones and sitting alone at lunch looking at his phone. Some said he was often mocked by other students for the clothes he wore, which included hunting outfits, and for wearing a mask even after the COVID-19 pandemic had subsided.“He sat by himself, didn’t talk to anyone, didn’t even try to make conversation,” said 17-year-old Liam Campbell, echoing the comments of classmates who remembered the shooter. “He was an odd kid,” but nothing about him seemed dangerous, he added. “Just a normal person who seemed like he didn’t like talking to people."After graduating high school in 2022, Crooks went on to the Community College of Allegheny County, earning an associate’s degree with honors in engineering science this past May. He also worked at a nursing home as a dietary aide.Crooks had been registered as a Republican voter, according to state records. But there was also a $15 donation to a progressive group recorded under “Thomas Crooks” in January 2021.<h2>Authorities received many reports beforehand</h2>There were roughly 155 law enforcement officers at the rally that day. That included a Secret Service counter-sniper team, a Butler County SWAT team and uniformed officers. Hundreds of Trump supporters gathered to hear him speak.The FBI says that after Crooks turned up at the site on that sunny Saturday afternoon, he flew a drone for about 11 minutes up and around the area and was getting the view directly on the controller he used. The Secret Service did not deploy its drone-detection system until later in the afternoon. And the advance team that scouts the venue ahead of time requested additional technology before the rally, but those requests were denied.The first reported sighting of Crooks was at 4:26 p.m., more than 1½ hours before Trump would begin speaking. A Beaver County sniper team member noticed Crooks at a picnic table, thought he was acting suspiciously, and alerted other local snipers who were posted inside the AGR building complex. “He knows you guys are up there,” the sniper texted the others. “He’s sitting to the direct right on a picnic table about 50 yards from the exit.”At 5:38 p.m., a Beaver County sniper, stationed inside the building where Crooks would later shoot from the roof, sent photos of Crooks to the local team’s group chat. "I did see him with a rangefinder looking towards the stage. If you wanna notify SS snipers to look out. I lost sight of him.” He also said there was a bike with a backpack nearby that wasn’t seen earlier.Secret Service sniper teams were posted on the roof closest to where Trump was to speak, but officials say the teams were never notified.At 5:45 p.m., a local sniper recommended that the command post, where team leaders were stationed, be alerted about Crooks. There were two posts; the Secret Service agents were only in one.“They’re asking for a direction of travel,” one local sniper says.“Not sure,” Beaver County SWAT sniper Gregory Nicol responded in a message at 6 p.m., about 11 minutes before Crooks would fire. “He was up against the building. If I had to guess toward the back. Away from the event.”“I assumed that there would be somebody coming out to — you know, to speak with this individual or, you know, find out what’s going on,” Nicol later told ABC News.The AGR (American Glass Research) complex is a warren of buildings, and Crooks eventually got to the roof of the building closest to the rally site. Nicol was trying to shadow Crooks from within the buildings but lost sight of him.Footage shows Crooks walking back to his car, parked near where the other local snipers were parked. There were improvised explosive devices inside the car, but no one knew.Bystanders saw Crooks again shortly after. They took mobile phone video of him pulling himself up to the top of the roof and slithering into position. They called the cops. These rally-goers were on alert for what the authorities either hadn't noticed or hadn't treated with the urgency that might have made a difference. You could say security in this moment was crowdsourced.By 6:08 p.m., law enforcement had eyes on Crooks again. A Secret Service counter sniper saw law local officers running toward the building with their guns drawn, but he didn't think to alert Trump's protective detail to pull the GOP candidate from the stage.Three minutes later, a local officer was hoisted up the squat roof by another officer, who saw Crooks with the rifle, laying down and pointing the weapon toward him. “He’s armed,” the officer radioed to his squad. “He’s got a long gun.”That message did not make it to key Secret Service officials. The shots were fired 30 seconds later.<h2>Trump changed — and didn't — after the attack</h2>Days after the shooting, Trump spent more than 10 minutes of his speech to the Republican National Convention giving vivid detail of what happened to him on the “warm, beautiful day in the early evening in Butler Township in the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”The crowd was rapt. Some in it would later don ear bandages like his in a show of support. Even some of Trump's fiercest critics conceded his turn on the stage in Butler had been masterful — raising his fist as blood trickled down his face, mouthing “fight” as he was hustled away.That episode joins the history books on pages inhabited by Teddy Roosevelt, who was shot in the chest on his way to a campaign address in Milwaukee in 1912 and insisted on giving his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&amp;club_id=991271&amp;module_id=338394">90-minute speech</a>&nbsp;before going to the hospital — an audacious display of Bull Mooseness.In another 90-minute speech in Milwaukee more than a century later, Trump told his convention “the assassin’s bullet came within a quarter of an inch of taking my life.” It was not an exaggeration, or at least not much of one.Those who tuned in at the start of his speech saw a man trying, for once, to reach a wider audience than his MAGA millions. “The discord and division in our society must be healed,” Trump said. “We must heal it quickly.”He proclaimed: “I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America.”That didn't last long. Most of the rest of his speech returned to standard operating procedure — the bombast, the falsehoods, the depictions of a United States rotting under Democrats.President Joe Biden, who often cast Trump as a threat to democracy given his refusal to accept his 2020 election loss and his stoking of supporters who rampaged at the Capitol, asked Americans to turn the temperature down.“Disagreement is inevitable in American democracy,” Biden said from the Oval Office, but politics should never devolve into a “killing field.”“While we may disagree, we are not enemies,” Biden went on.The temperature has not cooled since. After the episode at the golf course, Trump and his allies now are trying to lay blame directly on Democratic rhetoric for making him a literal target.In that case, officials said, the suspect did not get off any shots, never had Trump in his line of sight and fled from the scene after a Secret Service agent spotted and fired at him. He was later captured.By those measures, it was a more successful security operation than in Butler. Yet the Secret Service, once again, has much to answer for. The man was able to lurk on the perimeter of Trump's property for nearly 12 hours, police said, evading detection as he lay in wait with a rifle, scope, video camera and food.<h2>The investigation goes on</h2>Investigators have done more than 1,000 interviews. They’ve fielded more than 2,000 tips. In addition to getting into Crooks' phone, they've searched his home and sent the explosive devices found in his car to a lab for testing.Yet deputy FBI Director Paul Abbate says authorities have had to grapple with a “general absence of other information to date." That means no motive has been identified, no co-conspirators found. The Secret Service shot and killed the gunman on the scene.Law enforcement officers are trained to look for and assess suspicious-looking people. But they don’t arrest everyone they deem suspicious; most are harmless. On the day of the rally, they were tracking other people as well.Crooks’ behavior didn’t rise to the level of alarm at first. Secret Service officers only were told about a suspicious person the local authorities were worried about. The counter sniper who saw the officers running with guns drawn never make the connection to get Trump off the stage. In these moments, officers are listening for escalatory words like “threat” or “gun.”Such words came later, in the final seconds, but the message didn't land. There was no one radio frequency all the multi-agency officers could hop on. Instead, local officers had to radio the joint command center, where the Secret Service would relay messages to Trump's detail.Even that failed, Rowe told lawmakers. "None of that information ever made it over our net.”Jason Woods, team leader for Beaver County’s Emergency Services Unit and SWAT sniper section, told ABC News his people had no contact with the agents on Trump’s security detail. “We were supposed to get a face-to-face briefing with the Secret Service members whenever they arrived, and that never happened,” Woods said. “So I think that was probably a pivotal point, where I started thinking things were wrong because it never happened. We had no communication — not until after the shooting.”<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-senate-report-secret-service-50af5692ca1489771144ac399d491e5e">The Senate committee report</a>&nbsp;is only preliminary and promises more details, but plainly states the massive Secret Service failures.Congressional inquiries are bound to escalate in the hothouse of the presidential campaign and as law enforcement learns more. At the first one, Rowe, the acting Secret Service chief, implied that the local officers might bear some responsibility for the failure, too.“Controlling high ground is something that’s a must for us whenever we go into a location,” Rowe said. “We made an assumption” that local teams were covering the AGR building.“If they had just held their post and looked left," Rowe said, his voice trailing off. “Maybe.”He didn't press the point much. Later, he told a news conference: “This was a Secret Service failure.”

Read new report on failures that led to assassination attempt on Trump

USD 475 has been working closely with law enforcement authorities to deal with threats that occurred to schools. Two juveniles were arrested.

 Superintendent Dr. Reginald Eggleston noted possible measures going forward could include implementing a clear book bag policy and advancing metal detection practices. The high school's security center can monitor all of the District's facilities through cameras and direct communication with building administrators.

There will be discussion with the school board about additional steps that could be beneficial going forward. Eggleston said authorities will continue to drive the school parking lots and will sometimes walk through the buildings, primarily in elementary schools. There are school resource officers already stationed in the secondary schools, which helps in monitoring safety.

USD 475 has been working closely with law enforcement authorities to deal with threats that occurred to schools. Two juveniles were arrested. Superintendent Dr. Reginald Eggleston noted possible measures going forward could include implementing a clear book bag policy and advancing metal detection practices. The high school's security center can monitor all of the District's facilities through cameras and direct communication with building administrators.There will be discussion with the school board about additional steps that could be beneficial going forward. Eggleston said authorities will continue to drive the school parking lots and will sometimes walk through the buildings, primarily in elementary schools. There are school resource officers already stationed in the secondary schools, which helps in monitoring safety.

USD 475 works to keep schools safe and secure

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who authorities say&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-assassination-attempt-fee81d8bcf737bfcde2ee8e5cea88465">staked out Donald Trump for 12 hours on his golf course in Florida</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-florida-fbi-justice-department-1295144a65f46059ce39b4ccd7288fbc">wrote of his desire to kill him</a>&nbsp;was indicted Tuesday on an attempted assassination charge.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-routh-assassination-attempt-ukraine-suspicions-florida-530098c668f283d8a38eb5dd5570f1b2">Ryan Wesley Routh</a>&nbsp;had been initially charged with two federal firearms offenses. The upgraded charges contained in a five-count indictment reflect the Justice Department's assessment that he methodically plotted to kill the Republican nominee, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery surrounding Trump's West Palm Beach golf course on an afternoon Trump was playing on it. Routh left behind a note in which he described his intention, prosecutors said.

Court records show the case has been assigned to Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed federal judge who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-delay-trial-election-83be6fb5362e7bb2b7aaf6371a9acabf">generated intense scrutiny</a>&nbsp;for her handling of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-indictment-classified-documents-miami-8315a5b23c18f27083ed64eef21efff3">criminal case charging Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents</a>&nbsp;at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-smith-c66d5ffb7ba86c1b991f95e89bdeba0c">She dismissed that case in July</a>, a decision now being appealed by special counsel Jack Smith's team.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1726536262473.png" alt="Routh during his arrest -photo Martin County Sheriff" />
 <figcaption>Routh during his arrest -photo Martin County Sheriff</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — A man who authorities say&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fbi-assassination-attempt-fee81d8bcf737bfcde2ee8e5cea88465">staked out Donald Trump for 12 hours on his golf course in Florida</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-florida-fbi-justice-department-1295144a65f46059ce39b4ccd7288fbc">wrote of his desire to kill him</a>&nbsp;was indicted Tuesday on an attempted assassination charge.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-routh-assassination-attempt-ukraine-suspicions-florida-530098c668f283d8a38eb5dd5570f1b2">Ryan Wesley Routh</a>&nbsp;had been initially charged with two federal firearms offenses. The upgraded charges contained in a five-count indictment reflect the Justice Department's assessment that he methodically plotted to kill the Republican nominee, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery surrounding Trump's West Palm Beach golf course on an afternoon Trump was playing on it. Routh left behind a note in which he described his intention, prosecutors said.Court records show the case has been assigned to Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed federal judge who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-delay-trial-election-83be6fb5362e7bb2b7aaf6371a9acabf">generated intense scrutiny</a>&nbsp;for her handling of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-indictment-classified-documents-miami-8315a5b23c18f27083ed64eef21efff3">criminal case charging Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents</a>&nbsp;at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-classified-documents-smith-c66d5ffb7ba86c1b991f95e89bdeba0c">She dismissed that case in July</a>, a decision now being appealed by special counsel Jack Smith's team.The attempted assassination indictment had been foreshadowed during a court hearing Monday in which prosecutors successfully argued for the 58-year-old Routh to remain behind bars as a flight risk and a threat to public safety.They alleged that he had written of his plans to kill Trump in a handwritten note months before his Sept. 15 arrest in which he referred to his actions as a failed “assassination attempt on Donald Trump” and offered $150,000 for anyone who could “finish the job.” That note was in a box that Routh had apparently dropped off at the home of an unidentified witness months before his arrest.After the attempted assassination, the person opened the box, took a photograph of the front page of the letter — addressed “Dear World” — and contacted law enforcement.Prosecutors also said Routh kept in his car a handwritten list of venues at which Trump had appeared or was expected to be present in August, September and October.The charge of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate carries a potential life sentence in the event of a conviction. Other charges in the indictment include assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and the two original firearms charges he faced last week.The potential shooting was thwarted when a member of Trump’s Secret Service protective detail spotted a partially obscured man's face and a rifle barrel protruding through the golf course fence line, ahead of where Trump was playing. The agent fired in the direction of Routh, who sped away and was stopped by law enforcement in a neighboring county.Routh did not fire any rounds and did not have Trump in his line of sight, officials have said. He left behind a digital camera, a backpack, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope and a plastic bag containing food.The arrest came two months after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-vp-vance-rubio-7c7ba6b99b5f38d2d840ed95b2fdc3e5">Trump was shot and wounded in the ear in an assassination attempt</a>&nbsp;during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-secret-service-assassination-attempt-campaign-7dca5e30730287f46cceaa35437f0d47">The Secret Service has acknowledged failings</a>&nbsp;leading up to that shooting but has said that security worked as it should have to thwart a potential attack in Florida.The initial charges Routh faced in a criminal complaint accused him of illegally possessing his gun in spite of multiple felony convictions and with possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. It is common for prosecutors to bring preliminary and easily provable charges upon an arrest and then add more serious offenses later as the investigation develops.The FBI had said at the outset that it was investigating the episode as an apparent assassination attempt, but the absence of an immediate charge to that effect&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-assassination-attempt-fbi-florida-ryan-routh-desantis-f0852cfc0dcb3d66d3d051838e63276c">opened the door for Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis</a>&nbsp;to announce his own state-level investigation that he said could produce more serious charges.Trump, seeking to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the investigation and the Justice Department more broadly, complained Monday — before the attempted assassination charge was brought — that federal prosecutors were “mishandling and downplaying” the case by bringing charges that were a “slap on the wrist.”Asked Tuesday at an unrelated press conference about Trump’s criticism, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department “would spare no resources to ensure accountability” in the case.“All of our top priority should be ensuring that accountability occurs in this case and that those who run for office and their families are safe and protected,” Garland said.The Justice Department also said Monday that authorities who searched Routh's car found six cellphones, including one that showed a Google search of how to travel from Palm Beach County to Mexico.A notebook found in his car was filled with criticism of the Russian and Chinese governments and notes about how to join the war on behalf of Ukraine.In addition, prosecutors have cited a book authored by Routh last year in which he lambasted Trump’s approach to foreign policy, including in Ukraine. In the book, he wrote that Iran was “free to assassinate Trump” for having left the nuclear deal.