米大統領警護隊、独立調査に協力へ トランプ氏暗殺未遂

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】米大統領警護隊（シークレットサービス）は１５日、ドナルド・トランプ前大統領の暗殺未遂事件を受け、独立調査に協力する方針を表明した。（写真は、米ペンシルベニア州バトラーで行われた選挙集会で、銃撃された後に拳を突き上げながら退場するドナルド・トランプ前大統領）
　事件をめぐっては、半自動小銃を持った容疑者がトランプ氏から約１５０メートル離れた建物の屋根の上から狙撃するのを許したとして、大統領警護隊への批判が強まっている。
　それを受けジョー・バイデン大統領は１４日、独立調査を発表。１５日のＮＢＣテレビのインタビューでは、自身は警護隊に守られていることで「安全」だと感じているとしながら、トランプ氏銃撃事件で備えが十分だったかは「これから解明すべき問題」だと語った。
　大統領警護隊のキンバリー・チートル長官は声明で、事件の全容解明と再発防止に向け、「連邦、州、地元自治体すべての関係機関と協力する」と述べた。
　１５日付の米紙ワシントン・ポストによると、事件当時、屋根に不審者がいると警察に口頭で通報したり、指さしたりしている目撃者がいたことが、新たに出回っている動画で確認された。
　動画を解析した結果、最初の通報は、銃撃の１分２６秒前に発せられていたのが確認できたという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/07/16-17:26）

Facing growing criticism over a massive security failure, the US Secret Service on Monday vowed to cooperate with an independent review after a shooter was allowed to open fire on Donald Trump.
The 78-year-old former president was injured but survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, a brazen attack that shocked a nation already deeply polarized ahead of the November election.
The Secret Service is working with all involved federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again, the agency's director Kimberly Cheatle said in a statement.
We understand the importance of the independent review announced by President (Joe) Biden yesterday and will participate fully, Cheatle added.
Trump was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when multiple bangs rang out.
He clutched his ear, with blood visible on his ear and cheek, then ducked to the floor as Secret Service agents swarmed onto the podium, surrounding him and rushing him to a nearby vehicle.
The shooter and a bystander were killed, and two spectators injured.
Newly surfaced video backs up reports from witnesses that they had called out to police and physically pointed at the shooter as he lay on the roof preparing to open fire, the Washington Post reported Monday.
The shots targeting Trump rang out 86 seconds after the first audible attempts to warn the police, the Post said, citing an analysis it did of video clips from the scene of the attack.
Biden ordered a full review of the security at the rally, as well as at this week's Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Trump will be crowned the party's presidential nominee.
In an interview with NBC on Monday, the president said he feels safe with the Secret Service, though he added it was an open question whether they should have better anticipated the shooting at the Trump rally.
Biden has also ordered Secret Service protection for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer and long-time vaccine skeptic who has no chance of winning in November, but whose candidacy could potentially sway close contests in key swing states.
- Heightened risk -
The Secret Service faces intense scrutiny over how a gunman aiming an assault rifle was able to take position on a roof some 500 feet (150 meters) from one of the most protected political figures on the planet.
With Trump set to star at the convention, Cheatle said the agency was working to toughen security.
The Secret Service designs plans for major events to respond to a kinetic security environment and the most up-to-date intelligence, her statement said.
Earlier in the day, Trump had called for Secret Service protection for Kennedy in light of what is going on in the world today.
Given the history of the Kennedy Family, this is the obvious right thing to do! Trump wrote on his Truth Social web site.
Kenedy's uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in Dallas, Texas in 1963. Five years later, the candidate's father, Robert, was shot to death in Los Angeles while on the campaign trail.
The US Secret Service is responsible for the safety of the president, vice president and former presidents, and their families, as well as major election candidates and visiting foreign heads of state.