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Trump shooting live updates: Members of Congress go on roof at shooting site

One spectator was killed and two were hurt in the shooting on July 13.

Last Updated: July 22, 2024, 11:01 AM EDT

Federal authorities are investigating after former President Donald Trump was shot in the ear in an assassination attempt at an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

The alleged shooter was killed by snipers. One spectator was killed and two were hurt, officials said.

    9 hours and 11 minutes ago

    Didn’t know shooter had gun before Trump took the stage: Secret Service director

    Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle admitted she should have been clearer in her interview with ABC News Senior Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas last week when saying agents were not put on the building's roof because of the roof's sloped nature.

    "I should have been more clear in my answer when I spoke about where we placed personnel in that interview," Cheatle told the House Oversight Committee. “What I can tell you is that there was a plan in place to provide overwatch, and we are still looking into responsibilities and who was going to provide overwatch, but the Secret Service in general, not speaking specifically to this incident when we are providing overwatch, whether that be through counter snipers or other technology, prefer to have sterile rooftops."

    Kim Cheatle faced a grilling before the House Oversight Committee over how her agency handled security around the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at his July 13 rally.
    Kim Cheatle faced a grilling before the House Oversight Committee over how her agency handled security around the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at his July 13 rally.

    Cheatle also said that if the Secret Service had information there was a threat to Trump, they wouldn't have brought him on stage, but the information wasn't passed along to them. She said the Secret Service did not know the gunman had a weapon before Trump took the stage.

    She also admitted that the FBI has told her that the shooter flew a drone over the rally site.

    -ABC News’ Luke Barr

    9 hours and 24 minutes ago

    Secret Service's 'most significant operational failure' in decades, director says

    Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle told the House Oversight Committee on Monday that the assassination attempt was "the most significant operational failure at the Secret Service in decades."

    "There are multiple ongoing investigations into this incident, hundreds of people to interview, and thousands of documents to review. I do not want to inadvertently provide you today with inaccurate information," she said. "I may not be able to speak specifically to certain items that have circulated over the past nine days."

    Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump reacts as multiple shots rang out during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024.
    Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters

    Cheatle said 36 people are currently under Secret Service protection, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who arrives in the U.S. on Monday.

    "Immediately following the assassination attempt, I directed the activation of my Crisis Center and assembled my executive team to begin surging more protective resources to the former president and to ensure the wellness of our people post-incident, all while securing an active crime scene," she said.

    Kimberly Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee on Monday about the security failures that led to the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump on July 13.
    Kimberly Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee on Monday about the security failures that led to the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump on July 13.

    Cheatle said she is not blaming state and local partners and said planning for the event began 10 days before the rally.

    "The level of security provided for the former president increased well before the campaign and has been steadily increasing as threats evolve," she said. "The security plan included a full assessment of the Butler Farm show grounds to identify security vulnerabilities and craft a security plan for our protectee, attendees and the public."

    -ABC News’ Luke Barr

    9 hours and 34 minutes ago

    'Tragedy was preventable': Oversight chairman

    House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump was "preventable," and said the committee is "concerned the Secret Service lacks the management to keep protectees safe."

    "A former president and current candidate for president was shot in the head by a sniper within 500 feet of the podium," Comer said in his opening statement ahead of Secret Service Director Kim Cheadle’s testimony on Monday. "This is unacceptable. We are concerned the Secret Service lacks the proper management to keep protectees safe from bad actors. Americans demand answers, but they have not been getting them from the Secret Service. We are instead learning about the events surrounding the assassination attempt from whistleblowers and leaks. Americans demand accountability, but no one is yet to be fired for this historic failure."

    Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he is helped into a vehicle at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024.
    Gene J. Puskar/AP

    Comer reiterated his call for Cheatle to resign.

    Ranking committee member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said it is Congress' responsibility to learn from the attempted assassination and to ask tough questions of the director as to how this could have happened.

    "Some are calling it a miracle that former President Trump escaped this AR-15 attack, unlike so many thousands of our fellow citizens who have been killed or seriously committed in other AR-15 shootings," Raskin said. "Our job in Congress is not simply to marvel at miracles ... but to act as public policy legislators to do whatever we can to prevent future political violence, attempted assassinations and massacres."

    Raskin said he and Comer are "determined to get the bottom" of the "stunning security failures."

    He also called on Congress to ban assault weapons, noting that the gunman who shot Trump was 20 years old and used his father’s AR-15.

    -ABC News’ Luke Barr

    8:48 AM EDT

    House Homeland Security Committee chairman calls on Secret Service director to resign

    House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., is calling on Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle to resign.

    "Cheatle argued the Secret Service could not position counter-snipers in the location of the shooter because of the angle of the roof. This was an absurd, unacceptable, and obviously unfounded excuse," he said in a statement. "Cheatle placed blame at the feet of local law enforcement for the failures of that day -- blatantly ignoring the fact that local officers indicated ahead of time they did not have the ability to secure the building that the shooter used to fire those fateful shots."

    PHOTO: Illustration
    This graphic shows the location of the stage at the Trump rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024, and the suspected shooter's location on a rooftop near the venue.
    ABC News

    "Director Cheatle has rightfully admitted the near assassination of a former president was a failure. She even said the buck stops with her," Green continued. "For the good of this country, Director Cheatle must resign immediately."

    Green will visit the shooting site in Butler, Pennsylvania, at 11:30 a.m. ET Monday with a bipartisan group of members on the House Homeland Security Committee.

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