عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Security Lapses in Focus after Trump Rally Shooting

Snipers stand on a roof at Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, US, JULY 13, 2024 in this picture obtained from social media. Glen Van Tryfle/TMX/via REUTERS
Snipers stand on a roof at Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, US, JULY 13, 2024 in this picture obtained from social media. Glen Van Tryfle/TMX/via REUTERS
TT
TT

Security Lapses in Focus after Trump Rally Shooting

Snipers stand on a roof at Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, US, JULY 13, 2024 in this picture obtained from social media. Glen Van Tryfle/TMX/via REUTERS
Snipers stand on a roof at Republican presidential candidate and former US President Donald Trump's campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, US, JULY 13, 2024 in this picture obtained from social media. Glen Van Tryfle/TMX/via REUTERS

Republican lawmakers said they would launch swift investigations into how a person managed to evade Secret Service agents and climb onto the roof of a building near where former US President Donald Trump was speaking at an election rally and fire multiple shots before being killed.

Mike Johnson, speaker of the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives, said panels in the chamber will call officials from the Secret Service, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI for hearings soon.

The House oversight panel called Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to testify on July 22, Reuters reported.

While information about the incident was still sparse, early media reports said the shooter was outside the security perimeter of the rally venue in Butler, Pennsylvania. One person interviewed by the BBC said he had seen the man with gun and tried unsuccessfully to alert police and the Secret Service.

Trump supporters blasted the Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting Trump as a former US president. Billionaire Elon Musk called for the agency's leadership to resign.

"How was a sniper with a full rifle kit allowed to bear crawl onto the closest roof to a presidential nominee," asked conservative activist Jack Posobiec on social media site X.

FBI Special Agent Kevin Rojek, speaking at a press briefing, called the number of shots the attacker was able to fire "surprising."

The Secret Service did not have a representative in that press briefing late on Saturday, which included FBI and state law enforcement officials.
The Secret Service said shortly after the shooting that it has begun an investigation and briefed Democratic President Joe Biden, Trump's rival in the Nov. 5 election, though the agency did not immediately respond to additional requests for comment regarding its protocols.

The Pennsylvania State Police referred questions to the Secret Service.
Ben Maser said he was outside the rally perimeter, listening to Trump, when he noticed two officers seemingly looking for someone. Maser, a 41-year old welder, started scanning the area too.

"I saw the guy on the roof. I told the officer that he was up there. He went about looking for him," said Maser.

SECURITY REVIEW
The attack is certain to lead to a review of Trump's security, and going forward he will likely be provided with a level of protection more akin to a sitting president, said Joseph LaSorsa, a former Secret Service agent who served on the presidential detail.

"There will be an intensive review" of the incident and "there's going to be a massive realignment," LaSorsa said. "This cannot happen."

The Secret Service had said it recently added "protective resources and capabilities" to Trump's security detail, without providing further details.

A retired agent who worked in protective services, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident should spark an internal review, and ideally an external one too.

"The gravity of the situation demands thorough scrutiny to prevent such failures in the future and to ensure accountability on all levels," said the former agent.

SECURING TRUMP RALLIES

During most of Trump's campaign stops, local police help the Secret Service in securing the venue. Agents from other agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, such as the Transportation Security Administration, occasionally help.

Many Trump rallies feature thousands of audience members, take place in the open air and last for hours.

Before the event, agents scan the venue for bombs or other threats, and Trump invariably arrives in a fortified motorcade.

Law enforcement officials typically put up barriers as a perimeter, and require all attendees to go through a metal detector to enter the venue. Armed protective agents search all attendees' bags and even wallets. Many rallygoers are patted down by hand.

Paul Eckloff, a former Secret Service agent who retired in 2020, said agents would have surveyed all the rooftops with a line of sight ahead of time.

"This person either concealed themselves until they became a threat, or were not a threat until they revealed their weapons," said Eckloff.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Hurricane Milton Marches Across Central Florida, Destroying Homes

A motorist drives past broken utility poles downed by strong wind gusts as Hurricane Milton approaches Fort Myers, Florida, US October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo
A motorist drives past broken utility poles downed by strong wind gusts as Hurricane Milton approaches Fort Myers, Florida, US October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo
TT
TT

Hurricane Milton Marches Across Central Florida, Destroying Homes

A motorist drives past broken utility poles downed by strong wind gusts as Hurricane Milton approaches Fort Myers, Florida, US October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo
A motorist drives past broken utility poles downed by strong wind gusts as Hurricane Milton approaches Fort Myers, Florida, US October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo

Hurricane Milton marched across central Florida on Thursday after making landfall on the state's west coast hours earlier, whipping up deadly tornadoes, destroying homes and knocking out power to nearly 2 million customers.
The storm made landfall around 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 GMT) on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour (195 kph) near Siesta Key, the US National Hurricane Center said.
By 11 p.m. EDT (0300 GMT), wind speeds had reduced to 105 mph (165 kph), dropping Milton to a Category 2 hurricane, nonetheless still considered extremely dangerous. The eye of the storm was 75 miles (120 km) southwest of Orlando in the center of the state.
A flash flood emergency was in effect for the Tampa Bay area including the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, the hurricane center said, with St. Petersburg already receiving 16.6 inches (422 mm) of rain on Wednesday.
The eye of the storm landed in Siesta Key, a barrier island town of some 5,400 off Sarasota about 60 miles (100 km) south of the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, which is home to more than 3 million people.
Governor Ron DeSantis said he hoped Tampa Bay, once seen as the potential bull's eye, could dodge major damage and that the worst of the predicted storm surge could be avoided thanks to the landfall coming before the high tide. Forecasters said seawater could still rise as high as 13 feet (4 meters).
DeSantis reported Milton had also spawned at least 19 tornadoes caused damage in numerous counties, destroying around 125 homes, most of them mobile homes.
"At this point, it's too dangerous to evacuate safely, so you have to shelter in place and just hunker down," DeSantis said upon announcing the landfall.
At least two deaths were reported at a retirement community following a suspected tornado in Fort Pierce on the eastern coast of Florida, NBC News reported, citing St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson. His department did not immediately respond to a request for details.
Pearson estimated 100 homes were destroyed in the county where some 17 tornadoes touched down, NBC said.
More than 1.8 million homes and businesses in Florida were without power, according to PowerOutage.us.
The storm was expected to cross the Florida peninsula overnight and emerge into the Atlantic, still with hurricane force, on Thursday.
Once past Florida, it should weaken over the western Atlantic, possibly dropping below hurricane strength but still posing a storm-surge danger on the state's Atlantic Coast.
In a state already battered by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, as many as two million people were ordered to evacuate, and millions more live in the projected path of the storm.
Much of the southern US experienced the deadly force of Hurricane Helene as it cut a swath of devastation through Florida and several other states. Both storms are expected to cause billions of dollars in damage.
ZOO ANIMALS PROTECTED
While human evacuees jammed the highways and created gasoline shortages, animals including African elephants, Caribbean flamingos and pygmy hippos were riding out the storm at Tampa's zoo.
Nearly a quarter of Florida's gasoline stations were out of fuel on Wednesday afternoon.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency had moved millions of liters (gallons) of water, millions of meals and other supplies and personnel into the area. None of the additional aid will detract from recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene, the agency's administrator, Deanne Criswell, said earlier on Wednesday.
Trucks have been running 24 hours a day to clear mounds of debris left behind by Helene before Milton potentially turned them into dangerous projectiles, DeSantis said.
About 9,000 National Guard personnel were deployed in Florida, ready to assist recovery efforts, as were 50,000 electricity grid workers in anticipating of widespread power outages, DeSantis said.
Search-and-rescue teams were prepared to head out as soon as the storm passes, working through the night if needed, DeSantis said.
"It's going to mean pretty much all the rescues are going to be done in the dark, in the middle of the night, but that's fine. They're going to do that," DeSantis said.