Witnesses describe lack of security in lot that backed up to Trump rally

BUTLER, Pa. — Two women who watched former President Donald Trump’s rally Saturday from a neighboring property described what they called lax safety measures beyond the event’s security perimeter.

Valerie Fennell and Deb Kuminkoski had tickets to go to the rally, but, because of the heat and the large crowd, they decided to hang back and watch from Fennell’s backyard, which backs up to the area where the rally was held.

Fennell’s backyard is in a grassy area between where the Trump crowd gathered and the AGR factory where the shooter was perched on the roof of one of the buildings, about 150 yards away.

The shooter’s bullets soared right over their heads on their way toward Trump and his supporters as they watched the event, they said.

Fennell was pressed up against the fence, watching Trump make his opening remarks, when she noticed some “commotion” behind her, people running in different directions, she said.

Someone nearby told her a man with a backpack was on the roof of one of the nearby buildings. It was during that commotion, Fennell said, that attendees began alerting police that someone was up on the roof with a backpack.

Moments later, the shooter opened fire.

Fennell didn’t see the shooter, but she said that her son did and that he saw the rifle.

She said he also saw law enforcement snipers “get into position” and aim in their general direction as they stood in line with where the shooter was.

Fennell said her son turned to see what they were aiming at.

“He looked up and he saw the shooter,” Kuminkoski said, “a person with long hair all stretched out, ready to shoot. He saw this before any of the gunfire took place.”

Fennell and Kuminkoski said they didn’t see any security where they were positioned, right