Did Secret Service Ignore 102 Alerts Before Trump Assassination Attempt? Report Says...

Last Updated:July 04, 2026, 08:39 IST

The attack left one bystander dead, several others injured, and Trump wounded after a bullet grazed his ear.

A US government watchdog has found that the Secret Service failed to receive 102 local law enforcement radio transmissions related to the gunman who attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.

According to a report released Thursday by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general, the agency failed to establish a joint communications room with local law enforcement. As a result, it missed radio traffic concerning the search for a suspicious individual who was later identified as Thomas Crooks.

“Instead, we found that the Secret Service received only five phone calls and three text messages about Crooks," the report notes.

“As a result, Secret Service members did not alert President Trump’s protective detail about concerns of a suspicious person."

Crooks opened fire while Trump was addressing the rally from the stage. He was later shot dead by law enforcement. The attack left one bystander dead, several others injured, and Trump wounded after a bullet grazed his ear. Investigators found that Crooks had positioned himself on a nearby rooftop with a direct line of sight to the then-presidential candidate.

The inspector general’s report recommended improvements in information sharing and measures to address “line of sight vulnerabilities" before such events.

Responding to the findings, the Secret Service said it agreed with the recommendations.

“Many of these recommendations were already identified … and have since been implemented as part of our ongoing reform efforts," a spokesperson said.

The report also found that Crooks flew a drone over the rally site hours before the shooting. The flight went undetected because the Secret Service’s counter-drone system was not operational.

It further stated that the counter-drone system was being operated by a single “under-trained" official who had not tested the equipment before the event. According to the report, the operator spent hours attempting to fix the issue, allowing Crooks to carry out a nearly nine-minute drone flight without detection.

The findings add to a series of investigations by government watchdogs and congressional panels that have highlighted significant shortcomings in the Secret Service’s security planning for the rally.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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