Secret Service needs to ‘step up their game’: Chris Swecker
Former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swecker discusses the security failures at the Trump rally shooting and reacts to the Biden-Harris power struggle ahead of the 2024 election.
The U.S. Secret Service, on Sunday, issued a response to reports about the lack of communication between agencies during the attempted assassination of former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, earlier this month, vowing to understand the timeline to ensure it never happens again.
On July 13, Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to gain access to a roof, giving him a clear line of sight to Trump, who was speaking at a rally in Butler. Crooks then fired off eight rounds, grazing Trump’s ear, while killing one man and injuring two others, before he was shot and killed by a sniper.
Several reports have emerged since the shooting that suggest law enforcement was aware of a suspicious person, though they still allowed Trump to take the stage, bringing into question the lack of communication between the agencies.
"As it relates to communications on that day, we are committed to better understanding what happened before, during, and after the assassination attempt of former President Trump to ensure that never happens again," the Secret Service said in a statement on Sunday. "That includes complete cooperation with Congress, the FBI and other relevant investigations."
PENNSYLVANIA SWAT OFFICER SAYS TEAM HAD NO CONTACT WITH SECRET SERVICE BEFORE TRUMP RALLY SHOOTING
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump reacts as multiple shots rang out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)
The statement comes after several media companies highlighted the lack of communication being reported by local law enforcement.
A police officer on a local tactical team assigned to the rally, said there was no contact between their SWAT team and the U.S. Secret Service before Trump was shot.
"We were supposed to get a face-to-face briefing with the Secret Service members whenever they arrived," the Beaver County team's lead sharpshooter Jason Woods told ABC News. "That never happened."
TRUMP SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW GUNMAN EVADED SECURITY
Police snipers return fire after shots were fired while Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump was speaking at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Woods told the outlet that the lack of communication was likely part of the critical failure in planning that ended with 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks wounding Trump, killing spectator Corey Compartore and injuring two others before he was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.
Woods said that was probably a pivotal point, and he started thinking things were wrong because the face-to-face never happened.
"We had no communication," he said.
TRUMP CAMP QUESTIONS WHY THEY WEREN'T ALERTED OF SUSPICIOUS PERSON PRIOR TO ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Law enforcement officers stand over the body of would-be Trump assassin, Thomas Crooks, on Saturday, July 13, 2024. The gunman killed one person and injured the former president in his attempt. (Todd the Driller)
Since the assassination attempt, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has resigned, and several law enforcement and congressional probes have been launched.
Woods told ABC News that he and his team were in position hours before Trump took the stage at the Butler Farm Show, but his team's first communication with the Secret Service was "not until after the shooting." By then, he said, it was "too late."
One of the Beaver County snipers took pictures of Crooks and called into command about his suspicious presence at the venue – but the 20-year-old gunman was still able to position himself on the roof of the building, ABC reported.
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Meanwhile, members of Trump's Secret Service detail and his top advisers have questioned why they weren't told that local police had spotted a suspicious person who turned out to be a would-be assassin.
Trump's advisers thought that the sounds of shots, which they heard from a large white tent behind the stage, were fireworks, according to the Washington Post.
Fox News Digital's Christina Coulter contributed to this report.
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