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Secret Service chief admits armed assassins Almost killed former President Donald Trump.
Kimberly Cheatle, the agency’s director, said in her first public comments since Saturday’s shooting that the gunman should never have been allowed to be in a position where he could fire his weapon and that “the responsibility ultimately lies with her.”
“This is unacceptable and it should never happen again,” Cheatle said. In an interview with ABC News on Monday.
“Obviously, as a Secret Service agent, no one wants that to happen in their career. The responsibility is ultimately on me… I need to make sure we are conducting our reviews and providing resources to our personnel when necessary.”
However, despite questions about the Secret Service’s preparations for and handling of the rally, Chittel said she would not resign. She is expected to testify before a House Republican committee on July 22.
She also reiterated that the assassin’s hideout was not within the area protected by her agents and that the responsibility should be borne by the local police department.
Questions, criticisms and conspiracy theories surround the Secret Service Afterwards, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed onto the roof less than 150 meters from Trump’s podium and opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle.
Witnesses said they tried to alert law enforcement officers of a suspicious man on the roof Police did see signs of trouble a few minutes earlier. The U.S. Navy also Anti-sniper team The mission in the field is to monitor and respond to remote threats.
Officials said A local police officer attempted to climb onto the roof to investigate.but when Crooks swung the weapon at him, he was forced to let go and fell to the ground in pain. Crooks then turned, aimed at Trump and shot him, and was then killed by a sniper.
“This was a security breach from beginning to end,” former FBI Assistant Director Chris Swick told Fox News on Sunday. “The Secret Service’s primary mission is to prevent operations like this.”
Former Secret Service agent Jonathan Vacquero told independent “Many questions remain unanswered,” he said, adding that police must immediately review what happened and whether their procedures needed to be changed to protect candidates in this year’s election from further violence.
In an interview with ABC, Chittel said local police had been tasked with protecting the building where the shooting took place, and officers were stationed inside the building when the gunman climbed onto the roof.
She fully supported the sniper’s “splitting decision” to fire back, saying: “They were capable of making that decision themselves. If they thought it was a threat, they would have done it in that moment.”
“I applaud them for making this decision without checking with anyone, and luckily they neutralized the threat.”
She also denied any allegations of political bias within the Secret Service, saying: “The Secret Service is not a political agency. Security is not politics. The safety of people is not politics. And that’s what we’re focused on as an agency.”
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