US Secret Service says there was 'mission failure' in Trump assassination attempt

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Secret Service acting Director Ronald Rowe on Friday said the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump was a "mission failure" and the agency takes "full responsibility".

"This was a mission failure. The sole responsibility of our agency is to make sure our protectees are never put in danger," Rowe told reporters.

"We fell short of that in Butler, and I'm working to make sure that this failure does not happen again. I'm focused on ensuring that the full resources of the Secret Service are utilized to safeguard our protectees, and I've implemented and will continue to implement changes to ensure that that happens," he said.

He added that the Secret Service will continue to cooperate with pending oversight investigations of the July 13 "failure".

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned July 23, following pressure from lawmakers for security failures during an attempted assassination of Trump in a Pennsylvania rally.

Thomas Matthew Crooks, a lone 20-year-old gunman, opened fire on Trump during a campaign rally in the state of Pennsylvania striking him in his right ear.

The gunman killed one spectator and seriously injured two others.

Crooks was killed at the scene.