Current:Home > FinanceTwo men shot during Pennsylvania assassination attempt on Trump say Secret Service failed them-LoTradeCoin
Two men shot during Pennsylvania assassination attempt on Trump say Secret Service failed them
View Date:2024-12-23 17:29:26
BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — Two men who were shot during the first assassination attempt on Donald Trump this summer say the U.S. Secret Service was “negligent” in protecting the former president and other bystanders at the campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
David Dutch, 57, an ex-Marine, and James Copenhaver, 74, a retired liquor store manager, told NBC News in an exclusive interview Monday they were excited to be sitting in the bleachers behind the Republican nominee at the fairgrounds in Butler on July 13 when gunshots rang out and they were hit.
Another man, Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed in the shooting while shielding his family. Trump was wounded in the ear.
The interview with the two Pennsylvania men who were critically injured marked their first public statements since 20-year-old shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, opened fire in July from an unsecured rooftop nearby before he was fatally shot by sharpshooters.
“It was like getting hit with a sledgehammer right in the chest,” said Dutch, who served in both Desert Shield and Desert Storm in his time with the Marines from 1986 to 1992. He said he could see chunks of the bleacher and metal “flying all around” until the shooting stopped.
Dutch said Monday he was still “angry that the whole situation even happened. It should have never happened.” NBC News reported the two men’s attorneys said they were looking into possible litigation over what they view as negligence by the Secret Service.
“It wouldn’t have happened, had it been secure,” Copenhaver said.
Kimberly Cheatle, director of the Secret Service at the time, called the attempt on Trump’s life at the Pennsylvania rally the Secret Service’s “most significant operational failure” in decades.” She stepped down this summer after lawmakers called for her to resign.
Trump returned earlier this month to the Pennsylvania fairgrounds where he was nearly assassinated in July, urging a large crowd to deliver an Election Day victory that he tied to his survival of the shooting.
veryGood! (5)
Related
- Review: 'Emilia Pérez' is the most wildly original film you'll see in 2024
- Another victim from suspected serial killer's Indiana farm ID'd as man who went missing in 1993
- Reports: Novak Djokovic set for knee surgery, likely to miss Wimbledon
- Jake Gyllenhaal Addresses Possible Wedding Plans With Girlfriend Jeanne Cadieu
- Trump ally Steve Bannon blasts ‘lawfare’ as he faces New York trial after federal prison stint
- NHL to broadcast Stanley Cup Final games in American Sign Language, a 1st for a major sports league
- Toddler killed and mother injured during tornado in Detroit suburb
- Amanda Knox reconvicted of slander in Italy in case linked to her quashed murder conviction
- Why Outer Banks Fans Think Costars Rudy Pankow and Madison Bailey Used Stunt Doubles Amid Rumored Rift
- Alaska father dies in motorcycle crash on memorial run for slain daughter
Ranking
- Michael Jordan and driver Tyler Reddick come up short in bid for NASCAR championship
- Hailey Van Lith, Cameron Brink headline women's 3x3 team for 2024 Paris Olympics
- Chicago woman loses baby after teens kicked, punched her in random attack, report says
- 'America's Got Talent' recap: Simon Cowell breaks Golden Buzzer rule for 'epic' audition
- 4 arrested in California car insurance scam: 'Clearly a human in a bear suit'
- Environmental groups take first step to sue oil refinery for pollution violations
- Joro spiders, giant, venomous flying arachnids, are here to stay, pest experts say
- Crewed Boeing Starliner finally launches from Florida: 'Let's put some fire in this rocket'
Recommendation
-
Powell says Fed will likely cut rates cautiously given persistent inflation pressures
-
Is matcha good for you? What to know about the popular beverage
-
Why Kelly Osbourne Says Her Body Is “Pickled From All the Drugs and Alcohol”
-
Halsey reveals illness, announces new album and shares new song ‘The End’
-
Avril Lavigne’s Ex Mod Sun Is Dating Love Is Blind Star Brittany Wisniewski, Debuts Romance With a Kiss
-
14-years old and graduated from college: Meet Keniah, the Florida teen with big plans
-
Alaska father dies during motorcycle ride to honor daughter killed in bizarre murder-for-hire scheme
-
Hunter Biden's ex-wife Kathleen Buhle testifies about his drug use in federal gun trial