In the aftermath of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump last month, new details have emerged regarding a critical communication failure that led to a security lapse. Approximately 30 seconds before shots were fired, a local police officer radioed that he had spotted a man with a gun. However, this crucial information never reached the Secret Service as their agents were stationed in a separate command post and did not have access to the same radio traffic.

Ronald Rowe Jr., the acting director of the Secret Service, acknowledged the unique situation and expressed the need to reassess the placement of security rooms in order to prevent similar incidents in the future. "We have to rethink where we put our security rooms and we are in fact doing that now moving forward," Rowe stated.

The revelation surrounding the communication failure sheds light on one of the central mysteries surrounding the assassination attempt on July 13th - why was President Trump not removed from the stage when a gunman was spotted on a rooftop just 150 yards away?

The would-be assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, opened fire during Trump's speech, injuring the former president's ear, causing the death of one person in the crowd, and injuring two others. As a result, the Secret Service has faced intense scrutiny in the aftermath of the incident.

Initially, criticism was directed at the failure to secure the building that Crooks used. The Secret Service initially attempted to shift blame onto local law enforcement but later admitted that it was ultimately their responsibility to ensure the building was covered.

In a recent statement, Rowe provided more insight into the communication failures that unfolded on that fateful day. He revealed that Secret Service personnel were stationed in one command post with a member of the Pennsylvania State Police, while their local partners were located in a completely separate space.

"It is plainly obvious to me that we didn't have access to certain information," Rowe admitted. "Not by anybody's fault. It just so happened that there was a sense of urgency [on the radio, and] that there might have been radio traffic that we missed. We have to do a better job of that."

As it turns out, at 5:45 p.m., approximately 15 minutes before Trump took the stage, a Butler County countersniper sent two photos of a suspicious man, later identified as Crooks, to a Secret Service counterpart. Eight minutes later, the Secret Service countersnipers were made aware that a suspicious person was lurking around the building which Crooks eventually climbed onto.

However, due to the lack of access to local police radio traffic, the Secret Service personnel in the field and in the command post had no knowledge of the gunman on the roof until Crooks began firing, Rowe disclosed.

In response to the security lapse, Rowe has directed all agents in charge of field offices across the country to reassess the placement of security rooms. He suggested that if a state or local unified command post is set up, the Secret Service should also be present in that room.

The resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle last month, following a contentious House hearing on the assassination attempt, underscores the seriousness of the incident. Investigators are still working to determine Crooks' motive.

Despite the security failure, Rowe commended the actions of the Secret Service countersniper who successfully neutralized the gunman. The sharpshooter took down Crooks with a single shot, 15 1/2 seconds after the assailant fired his first shot.

Rowe, however, reaffirmed the agency's responsibility for the security lapse, calling it a "mission failure." He stated, "The sole responsibility of our agency is to make sure our protectees are not put in danger. We fell short of that in Butler, and I am working to ensure that this failure does not happen again."