Former Metro Atlanta Secret Service Leaders Explain Response to Assassination Attempt – WSB-TV Channel 2

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He said security during campaign periods becomes more difficult because of large outdoor gatherings.

“In the current political environment, it is clear that the threat level against those running for president is certainly higher than we have seen in many years,” Wilkinson said.

Retired Special Agent Ray Moore headed the U.S. Secret Service’s Atlanta field office.

He has protected presidents since Nixon.

He said that once the officers on stage heard the gunshots, notice how they covered the former president and pushed him under the armored parts of the stage.

“They put him in what we call a bunker, a body bunker, a human shield. They were trying to cover him so the bad guy couldn’t shoot anymore, and if he did, he wouldn’t hit former President Trump,” Moore said.

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He said that when viewers heard a countdown coming from that bunker, that was the signal to move.

“When they say, ‘One, two, three!’ that means everybody move. Everybody goes to a room or a hard vehicle,” Moore said.

“Every detail of this process was practiced. Every detail was learned by the officers. Every step of the procession down to the positioning of the vehicle,” Wilkinson said.

Moore said he spoke with colleagues still serving in the Secret Service after Saturday’s shooting. They said the shooter never used the security machines.

“The shooter was outside the protected perimeter. He was outside the fence and he had worked his way up to a low roof,” Moore said.

He said that from the rescue team members to the undercover officers and snipers, everyone responded with courage.

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“The only thing that could have been done better would have been to push the perimeter where they have more assets further out on the ground and on those low roofs, and that could happen,” Moore said.

Wilkinson, also proud, said the Secret Service would review each image for improvement.

“You’re going to hear a lot from Congress and other entities investigating this, but I assure you the Secret Service is going to do everything it can,” Wilkinson said.

Both men said current presidents stand behind bulletproof glass in outdoor settings, but that was not the protocol for former presidents. They believe that could change in the future.

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