OAN Staff Abril Elfi
9:38 AM – Saturday, August 3, 2024
The United States Secret Service’s (USSS) acting director has said that the local police in Pennsylvania had warned them about a man on the roof before Donald Trump’s assassination attempt, but the message did not reach USSS agents on time.
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On Friday, Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe told reporters that the warning was not received before a 20-year-old attacker opened fire on Trump because local authorities and Secret Service agents were using separate communication channels.
“In the final 30 seconds – which has been the focus of what happened before the assailant opened fire – there (were) clearly radio transmissions that may have happened on that local radio net that we did not have,” Rowe said.
According to Rowe, the FBI is trying to investigate exactly what was said. However, Rowe stated that the investigators think “there was somebody who did in fact radio out that they had seen the individual with a weapon.”
The gunman, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire after being confronted by a local police officer on the building’s roof. However, law enforcement officials have previously stated that the officer, who had been lifted up by a colleague, fell to the ground approximately 30 seconds before the attacker started shooting.
According to Rowe, the Secret Service was aware that local police were handling a problem outside the event when shots were fired, but they were unaware that a weapon was present.
Rowe said he was “ashamed” of the security lapse that happened on the day of the shooting in testimony to Congress on Tuesday, but he also placed the blame for the failure on local law enforcement. Rowe added that local law enforcement in Butler, Pennsylvania, had set up a command post for the former president’s outdoor campaign rally, but the Secret Service had not been present.
The July 13th failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump prompted the agency’s former director, Kimberly Cheatle, to resign from her role after a heated congressional testimony.
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