TOLEDO, Ohio — Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn said there is a rare but present possibility of getting shot at a political rally, referencing the shocking moment when an assassination attempt was made on former President Donald Trump on Sunday.
"Who'd think you'd go to a rally for a presidential candidate that you might get shot? The possibility is always there, it's a minimal possibility," Wasylyshyn said of the attack at a Pennsylvania campaign rally, the most serious attempt at killing a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.
As presidential candidates travel the campaign trail, the Secret Service will plan meetings with local law enforcement to help with traffic safety and event patrolling.
The local agencies know the area and help make sure plans go accordingly when presidential candidates or other high-profile dignitaries visit.
"You hope that with all the spotters the Secret Service has and their sharpshooters that they see all those things. But they can't see everything," Wasylyshyn said. "They'll explain who they need where, we'll discuss routes, we'll discuss what hospital they would use if there were to be an emergency."
But no matter how prepared, it's hard to think of everything that could go wrong with big events that attract large crowds.
Wasylyshyn said if violence is attempted, like the attack on Trump, officers are instructed to react right away and investigate how it got to that point once the situation is safe.
"We have to act on what we see because there's no time to ask for permission," he said. "We're trying to preserve the peace and if we see someone that looks like they're going to harm the dignitary or harm the crowd, you need to react right now."
Investigators are trying to piece together how the shooter managed to fire multiple shots at the rally and strike Trump despite the Secret Service's presence.
"Believe me, they're already digesting what went wrong, what could've been done better, how could it have been approached in a different way," Wasylyshyn of the investigation.
Wasylyshyn also believes the attempted assassination may affect how presidential candidates for the November general election approach speeches and public appearances.
"It'll be interesting to see, do the candidates change what they do based on what happened Saturday? he said. 'That's very likely too. Do they go back to doing it in hangars or having enclosed areas?"