SAN ANTONIO — A local Republican congressman is among the lawmakers investigating the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.
It comes as new reports reveal shocking security failures.
"We have to make sure this never happens again,” said U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales. “I don't care what presidential candidate, what party, what platform; you have to be safe."
Law enforcement in Pennsylvania told CBS news three snipers from a local tactical team were stationed inside the building the shooter used for the attack.
Authorities claim the snipers saw the shooter three times. Once, scoping out the building's roof. A second time, returning with a range finder. The third incident came about half an hour before the shooter opened fire. A sniper reportedly snapped a photo of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks.
"Someone is to blame for that,” said Gonzales. “Maybe multiple people are to blame for that, and those people should no longer have a job."
Gonzales sits on the House Homeland Security Committee, which oversees the Secret Service. He is also on the House Committee on Appropriations, which funds the Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The San Antonio resident says he is interested in one thing.
"The facts leading us to the truth, the truth leading us to action,” said Gonzales. “There has to be action. People are outraged at what occurred. We need to let the ballot box determine the winners and losers [of elections], not some would-be assassin."
The congressman told KENS 5 he's been in contact with homeland security and the FBI, and says he spoke with both departments on Wednesday.
"I'm not pleased with the answers,” he said. “The answers are very vague, and it's always blaming someone else."
According to Gonzales, a lack of transparency is fueling conspiracy theories on both sides of the political spectrum.
"The longer it goes on, someone is going to fill in those gaps,” he said. “It may be truths, it may be half-truths, and it may be flat out lies. It's dangerous to have people spread these conspiracy theories without any of the facts."
The first congressional hearing on the attempted assassination will be held next week. Gonzales says he wants a clear timeline for the FBI to conclude its investigation so action can be taken.
>MORE ON KENS
TRENDING: