Two men who were shot during the July 13, 2024, attempted assassination of then-candidate Donald Trump in Butler County and their wives are suing the U.S. Secret Service claiming a “cascade of preventable failures” led to the shooting.

David and Sheree Dutch, and James and Marianne Copenhaver, both from Allegheny County, filed separate, but similar suits through the same attorney Monday, June 1, in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, alleging a lack of communication, inadequate use of drone technology and other failures that led to their injuries. Each couple is seeking damages in excess of $150,000.

James Copenhaver was struck twice and David Dutch was hit once from the eight gunshots fired by the would-be assassin, according to the suits. A bullet also grazed the ear of Trump, who was campaigning at the Butler Farm Show Grounds before winning the presidential election in November, and another struck and killed Buffalo Township firefighter Corey Comperatore. The would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park in Allegheny County, was shot and killed by the Secret Service in the incident.

Copenhaver, who still has bullet fragments in his body, sustained damage to his kidney and colon, a hip fracture, blood clot, abdominal aortic aneurysm and a fractured vertebra, according to his suit.

Dutch, who was shot in the abdomen, sustained a lacerated liver, a shattered rib, and damage to his diaphragm, according to his suit.

Both men state they sustained debilitating, permanent and life-altering physical and emotional injuries and underwent numerous surgeries.

The suits cite information from congressional investigations they say detail failures by the Secret Service.

Agents failed to secure the roof of the AGR building, mitigate the line of sight threat posed by the building, adequately communicate, locate Crooks despite numerous sightings, notify Trump’s security detail about Crooks’ erratic actions and use drone technology that would have alerted agents to Crooks’ location, according to the suits.

Then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned following the incident. According to the suits, numerous agents were suspended and placed on restrictive duty or moved to nonoperational positions following the shooting.

Congressional investigations found a “disturbing pattern of communication failures and negligence” and unacceptable failures in planning and execution by the Secret Service, according to the suits. The shooting would not have occurred if the Secret Service had followed mandatory policies and procedures, the suits argue.

On July 2, 2024, Trump’s Secret Service detail notified the agency and its Pittsburgh Field Office about a potential campaign stop. On July 4, the detail sent word about the location of the rally. Advanced planning began July 5, and the agency invited state and local law enforcement to a July 8 meeting, according to the suits.

The AGR building, which required special attention due to its proximity and clear line of site to the stage, was discussed with local and state police July 9 as advanced planning continued. The Secret Service believed local and state police were going to secure the building, but local and state police denied there was any discussion about which entity would secure the building, according to the suits.

The Secret Service continued site visits and planning through July 12 and finished its security plan that day. Local police completed their security plan, but it was not sent to the Secret Service and the agency did not ask for it, according to the suits.

On July 13, local law enforcement and the Secret Service held separate security meetings, but no agents attended the local law enforcement meeting and the agencies set up separate command centers. One state trooper was in the Secret Service command center, but no local police were there. No Secret Service agents were in the local police command center, which agents believed was to be used for medical emergencies and to address the line of sight issue, according to the suits.

Radio problems prevented the police command center from communicating with the Secret Service command center, so police used a cellphone to speak with the trooper in the Secret Service command center, according to the suits.

A Secret Service drone designed to detect other drones wasn’t working most of the day, including when the shooter, later identified as Crooks, flew a drone over the property prior to 4 p.m. for nearly 12 minutes. The Secret Service drone operator spent the morning and afternoon on the phone with the manufacturer troubleshooting the problem with the drone, which began working around 4:30 p.m., according to the suits.

The shooting started around 6:10 p.m.

Some Secret Service agents were told to change frequencies after their radios picked up transmissions from an event in Pittsburgh involving then-first lady Jill Biden, exacerbating the communications problems, according to the suits.

Between 4:30 and 5 p.m., local police noticed Crooks acting erratically, but didn’t tell the Secret Service due, in part, to the communication issues, according to the suits.

The suits detail that at 5:10 p.m., local police saw Crooks near the AGR building using a range finder to measure the distance to the stage, which prompted police to look for him. Around 5:40 p.m., police texted several police countersnipers about Crooks and told them they could notify the Secret Service. A couple of minutes later, a police countersniper gave a description of Crooks to the police command center, which contacted the trooper in the Secret Service command center, but the information was not given to all Secret Service agents.

By 5:51 p.m. certain agents in the Secret Service command center were aware of Crooks and had photos of him. None of the information was given to Trump’s security detail, according to the suits.

Shortly after 5:51 p.m., Crooks was seen again near the AGR building, but no police or agents confronted him. Around 6:05 p.m., Crooks climbed air conditioning units to reach the roof of the AGR building while carrying a rifle and was seen moving across several building rooftops in the AGR complex. Rally attendees saw him and tried to tell police, according to the suits.

After Trump began speaking, a police officer approached the AGR building and saw Crooks on the roof. He radioed other police, but the Secret Service did not hear the transmission. At 6:09 p.m., local police called the trooper in the Secret Service command center and told him about Crooks on the roof. Police also notified an agent, who said he would speak with Crooks if he could find him, according to the suits.

Shortly after 6:09 p.m., one police officer hoisted another one onto the AGR roof. He saw Crooks, who pointed a rifle at the officer. The officer fell back to the ground but shouted on his radio that a man armed with an assault rifle was on the roof. The information was not relayed to Trump’s security detail, according to the suits.

At 6:11 p.m., eight shots were fired at Trump. A Secret Service countersniper then shot and killed Crooks with one shot, according to the suits.