Photo: JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP / Getty Images
Several U.S. Secret Service agents, including the head of the Pittsburgh field office, have been placed on administrative leave following an investigation into last month's assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. The incident occurred on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a 20-year-old gunman fired eight rounds from a nearby rooftop during a Trump rally. One of the shots grazed Trump's ear.
The Secret Service's internal affairs division is investigating how the gunman was able to open fire near the former president's location. The gunman was eventually killed by a Secret Service sniper positioned behind the stage where Trump was speaking. One bystander, Pennsylvania firefighter Corey Comperatore, was fatally struck during the incident, and two other spectators were seriously injured.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that the agency's "mission assurance review is progressing, and we are examining the processes, procedures, and factors that led to this operational failure."
Guglielmi added that any violations of policy identified during the investigation would be handled by the Office of Professional Responsibility for potential disciplinary action.
The incident led to the resignation of Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service at the time. She was replaced by Acting Director Ronald Rowe, who expressed his shame over the assassination attempt and pledged to investigate the failures that allowed the gunman to open fire.
Congress is also investigating the incident and the Secret Service's handling of the rally. The House has assembled a task force on the assassination attempt, and senators have demanded records from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.