DAWN.COM

Today's Paper | November 22, 2024

Published 31 Jul, 2024 05:31am

Secret Service official ‘ashamed’ of Trump security lapse

WASHINGTON: The US Secret Service’s new acting director said on Tuesday he is “ashamed” of a major security lapse that preceded the July 13 attempted assassination of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at a Pennsylvania campaign rally.

In testimony before two Senate committees, Acting Secret Service Director Ro­nald Rowe said he visited the outdoor rally site in Butler and climbed onto the roof of a nearby building from which 20-year-old Thomas Crooks fired shots that wounded Trump’s right ear, killed one rally attendee and wounded two others, with an AR-15-style rifle.

“What I saw made me ashamed,” Rowe told a joint hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees. “As a career law enforcement officer, and a 25-year veteran with the Secret Service, I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured.”

Investigators have still not discovered Crooks’ motive, but FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate testified that they have newly found a social media account dating to 2019-2020 that appeared to be linked to the shooter.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2024

Read Comments

IHC grants Imran bail in new Toshakhana case as govt rules out release Next Story