WASHINGTON: A number of US Secret Service agents have been placed on leave following the assassination attempt against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, US media reported on Friday.

The agents put on leave include members of the Pittsburgh field office, which coordinated security for Trump’s July 13 campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, several US TV networks said.

The Secret Service declined to comment on what it described as a “personnel matter”, but said it is “committed to investigating the decisions and actions of personnel related to the event in Butler”.

“The US Secret Service’s mission assurance review is progressing, and we are examining the processes, procedures and factors that led to this operational failure,” spokesman Anthony Gug­lielmi said in a statement.

“The US Secret Service holds our personnel to the highest professional standards, and any identified and substantiated violations of the policy will be investigated by the Office of Professional Responsi­bility for potential disciplinary action,” he said.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resig­ned last month after acknowledging that the agency had failed in its mission to prevent the assassination attempt by a 20-year-old gunman.

Trump was wounded in the ear, two rally attendees were seriously injured and a 50-year-old Pennsylvania firefighter was killed before a Secret Service sniper shot the gunman dead.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2024