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An independent panel investigating the assassination attempt against President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, is calling for reform at the Secret Service.
The panel released a 52-page report on Thursday warning of needed changes to avoid future tragic events.
“The Secret Service as an agency requires fundamental reform to carry out its mission,” the authors wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“Without that reform, the Independent Review Panel believes another Butler can and will happen again,” the panel added.
The report cited the unprotected flat rooftop as a key safety concern.
“The failure to secure a complex of buildings, portions of which were within approximately 130 yards of the protectee and containing numerous positions carrying high-angle line of sight risk, represents a critical security failure,” the report said.
The report also highlighted problems in the communication between the Secret Service and local law enforcement.
“Relying on a general understanding that ‘the locals have that area covered’ is simply not good enough and, in fact, at Butler this attitude contributed to the security failure,” the report noted.
The July rally resulted in 20-year-old Thomas Crooks firing eight shots from a nearby rooftop. Trump’s right ear was grazed by a bullet in the shooting.
Former fire chief Corey Comperatore, 50, of Sarver, died during the shooting. Two additional victims were injured and left in serious condition, including 57-year-old David Dutch, of New Kensington, and 74-year-old James Copenhaver, of Moon Township.
The panel members were Mark Filip, deputy attorney general under President George W. Bush; David Mitchell, who served in numerous state and local law enforcement roles in Maryland and Delaware; Janet Napolitano, homeland security secretary under President Barack Obama; and Frances Fragos Townsend, Bush’s assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism, according to the Associated Press.
Trump has continued to face security threats since the Butler rally. A second assassination attempt occurred in September outside of the Trump International Gold Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The 45th president has also faced multiple threats from Iranian sources. One effort included computer hacking against his campaign. Another plot was foiled in the arrest of a Pakistani national living in the U.S.