An internal investigation by the US Secret Service has revealed major communications failures leading up to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania. According to The Washington Post, the former president’s security guards failed to instruct local police to secure the building’s roof, allowing the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, to climb onto the roof and open fire.
Although the Secret Service discussed the possibility of installing obstacles to block visibility from the roof, no steps were taken. This resulted in the shooter being able to fire seven shots, killing one person, wounding Trump in the ear and two other rally participants, before being eliminated by Secret Service snipers.
The investigation found that there was a lack of adequate information sharing between the Secret Service and local police. Reports of a suspicious man with a rangefinder an hour before the attack were not relayed to the Secret Service, and Butler police received no further instructions after their warning about possible threats.
The serious lapses led to the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who said the building’s roof was too dangerous to patrol. New acting director Ronald Rowe noted that the agency faces challenges in carrying out its national security mission with limited resources.
Previously, Kursor wrote that most Israelis want to see Trump as the next US president.
