Assassination attempt on Donald Trump spotlights security lapses: ‘this cannot happen’
- Republican lawmakers and Trump supporters blasted the Secret Service, which has the primary responsibility for protecting the former president
Republican lawmakers said they would launch swift investigations into how a sniper apparently managed to evade Secret Service agents and climb onto the roof of a building near where Donald Trump was speaking at an election rally and fire multiple shots before being killed.
While information about the incident is still sparse, early media reports said the shooter was outside the security perimeter of the rally venue in Butler, Pennsylvania. At least one person interviewed by the BBC said he tried to alert police and the Secret Service, to no avail, to the apparent sniper.
Trump supporters blasted the Secret Service, which has the primary responsibility for protecting Trump as a former US president. Billionaire ally 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.
Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said on social media that the House will have “Secret Service Director KIMBERLY CHEATLE and other appropriate officials from DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and the FBI appear for a hearing before our committees ASAP”.