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Shocking information has emerged from a Secret Service report following a failed attempt to assassinate Donald Trump in July 2024, with a counter drone operator seemingly caught Googling the would-be location of the attacker while shots were being fired towards the then Republican presidential nominee.
Highlighting multiple missed opportunities "to detect, prevent, and disrupt Thomas Crooks' attempted of the then-former President Donald J. Trump," the report from the Department of Homeland Security indicates that the operator and Secret Service at large had failed to adequately respond to information provided by law enforcement.
Reports of the incident outline that law enforcement personnel present at the event informed the Secret Service that a gunman – who later turned out to be Crooks – was spotted on the roof of the American Glass Research International (AGR) complex, which was situated around 155 yards (142 meters) from Trump.
As shared by the New York Post, the Secret Service communications room supervisor "did not ask for the AGR complex's location" and "did not immediately identify it as a risk," handing it off instead to a counter drone operator nearby "because it was a 'busy time' on Secret Service radios."
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As the AGR's complex location was not communicated to the operator in the likely chaotic moment, they instead opted for a Google search — which might be great for you and I in everyday scenarios, but less ideal for a situation as serious as this.
"Instead of asking local law enforcement personnel for the AGR complex's location," the report illustrates, "the counter drone operator searched online for it, and was still searching when Crooks fired his first shots," which subsequently grazed Trump's ear in an incredible near miss incident.
There were reportedly 102 total radio transmissions regarding Crooks presence at the event that went unheard by Secret Service personnel, and it was detailed that they only received five phone calls and three text messages across the chain of events that led to the failed assassination.
Crooks was eventually shot and killed by law enforcement following his assassination attempt, but the report clearly outlines how it should not have reached the stage where shots were fired, and the attack should have been prevented at a far earlier point.
That's not the only time that President Trump has been on the receiving end of an assassination attempt either, as there have been several suspected attacks throughout his political career.
One of the most high profile occurred at the recent White House Correspondents Dinner, where Trump, alongside several other famous faces, were swiftly escorted from the building while the suspect was apprehended at the security screening gates.
