BREAKING: Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle BLAMES local police, says they were in the building despite Secret Service being in charge of event

“There was local police in that building — there was local police in the area that were responsible for the outer perimeter of the building," Cheatle said in the interview about the local police, per the New York Times.

Another large reason why there may not have been security on the roof where Thomas Matthew Crooks was located to make an assassination attempt on Donald Trump is that the building had a "sloped roof" and would be a safety concern.

According to a report from the Daily Mail, Cheatle told ABC News, "That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point. And so, you know, there's a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn't want to put somebody up on a sloped roof."

She added, "And so, you know, the decision was made to secure the building, from inside." Crooks was still able to get on top of the building and fire at Trump as well as the crowd behind the 45th president despite the security inside the building.

"The shooter was actually identified as a potential person of suspicion," Cheatle added. "Unfortunately, with the rapid succession of how things unfolded, by the time that individual was eventually located, they were on the rooftop and were able to fire off at the former president."

People in the crowd at the rally were able to identify and attempted to alert authorities to Crooks' presence on top of the roof prior to him firing any shots off. After the shots were fired, Trump was struck in his ear, being a fraction of an inch from death.

50-year-old Corey Comperatore was fatally shot, protecting his family in the process from the bullets. 57-year-old Marine veteran David Dutch as well as 74-year-old James Copenhaver were also struck by the bullets and were critically injured. Dutch was placed into a medically induced coma for treatment, being shot in the liver as well as in the chest. Copenhaver and Dutch are now in stable condition.

Following the interview, the National Fraternal Order of Police released a statement that took issue with Cheatle saying that the police were responsible for the security at the building.

The Secret Service then put out its own statement, denying that the agency had placed blame on the local police officials, saying, "Any news suggesting the Secret Service is blaming the local law enforcement for Saturday's incident is simply not true."