Acting Director Ronald L. Rowe Jr. revealed to reporters that it took Secret Service countersnipers 15.5 seconds to fire at and neutralize the gunman who wounded former President Donald Trump at a Butler, Pennsylvania, political rally last month.
On Friday, Rowe provided a timeline of the events that led up to the assassination attempt.
Rowe said the gunman fired three shots toward the president at 6:11 p.m. ET on July 13. After Secret Service agents surrounded the former president, five more shots were fired by the gunman. That's when a countersniper fatally shot the gunman.
"I can say without a doubt that heroism was present that day. Secret Service agents rushed to the stage to shield the former president with their bodies within three seconds of bullets ringing out in an unflinching act of bravery. The Secret Service countersniper, who neutralized the threat with a single shot, saved countless lives," Rowe said.
Rowe said the Secret Service began planning with local law enforcement and campaign staff for the rally on July 8, five days before the event. Advanced planning teams began arriving in Pittsburgh three days before the rally, Rowe said.
The rally site then was built on July 12.
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The next morning, Secret Service agents began taking their posts and conducting their security sweeps of the event site. The Secret Service started screening event staff at 12:30 p.m., 30 minutes before the public could enter.
At 5:30 p.m., Trump was on-site meeting with supporters backstage in a secured area. Fifteen minutes later, Rowe said that a Butler County Emergency Services Unit countersniper team member texted the Secret Service countersniper team leader about a suspicious person, including two photos. Rowe confirmed that this person was later identified as the attempted assassin.
Eight minutes after getting the text, the Secret Service team leader texted countersniper teams that local law enforcement was monitoring a suspicious person outside of the perimeter.
"At this time, Secret Service personnel were operating with the knowledge that local law enforcement was working on an issue of a suspicious individual," Rowe said.
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Trump was allowed to take the stage at 6 p.m., 11 minutes before shots were fired.
"Based on what I know right now, neither the Secret Service countersniper teams nor members of the former president’s security detail had any knowledge that there was a man on the roof of the AGR building with a firearm," Rowe said. "It is my understanding that personnel were not aware the assailant had a firearm until they heard gunshots."
Rowe said local law enforcement was tasked with over 100 different incidents outside of the rally, ranging from suspicious people to missing children and medical problems.
