The US Secret Service has accepted its lapse in safeguarding former President Donald Trump during an election rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. Trump, 78, was shot by a young gunman while he was addressing a rally in Butler. He narrowly escaped the assassination attempt as one bullet reached within millimetres of him and another one hit his right ear.
Acting Director of the Secret Service, Ronald Rowe mentioned in the press conference, “The Secret Service completely owns up the responsibility for the incident which happened on July 13. This was a mission failure. Our foremost duty is to ensure the safety of our protectees, and we fail to meet up the expectation. I am committed to addressing this failure and averting such incidents in the future.’’
What work does the US Secret Service do?
The Secret Service’s primary task is to protect the President, former Presidents, their families, and the presidential nominee. The agency will fully cooperate with the ongoing probe by the independent review instigated by US President Joe Biden, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General, and the Congress.
Detail on How Trump was shot
Row explained in detail how and when Trump was shot. The former US President reached the venue of the rally at 5:30 pm in a motorcade monitored by the Secret Service. He met with his supporters in a backstage area which was fully secured. A representative from a local emergency service informed the emergency services counter-sniper team about a suspicious person. The suspicious person was later declared as the attacker. After this, the Secret Service was intimated that the suspicious person had been investigated by the local authorities.
Trump commenced his speech at 6:00 pm, during this time neither the Trump’s security team nor the Secret Service were aware of the danger. Then only realized the threat when gunshots were shot. At 6:11 pm, Trump was shielded on the stage, and within 15.5 seconds the attacker was neutralized.
(With PTI inputs)