Considering the feverish state of political tensions in the country, the United States and the former president both narrowly survived a gunman’s bullet on Saturday evening, according to a security expert.

Speaking with the Herald Sunday, former New York City and Boston Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said that the apparent attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump could have pushed political tempers high enough to boil over into the streets of American cities, and that it’s only luck that spared the 45th President and the U.S. itself from a massive security failure and potential doom.

“There was a significant security failure at this event. Mr. Trump and the country both dodged a fatal bullet. If, God forbid, he had been killed, there would have been absolute chaos,” Bratton said.

Trump, who according to his own social media postings is doing well after he was apparently struck in the ear by a rifle round fired by the deceased 20-year-old would-be assassin, is already under heightened Secret Service protection, Bratton said. It’s a wonder then, the former law enforcement official said, that the roof from which the shooter is said to have fired his shots was not occupied by a member of the Secret Service or a local law enforcement officer.

“I think its becoming very clear that security for this event was deficient. The fact there was a near-successful attempt on the former president’s life, it’s going to raise all kinds of questions going forward,” he said.

In the meantime, there is going to be a “fog of confusion” surrounding Saturday’s shooting, which will only resolve through the course of an investigation, Bratton said.

“The first story is never the last story,” he said.

Even the best laid security plans are fallible, Bratton said, and the Secret Service deserves praise for how quickly they neutralized the danger to the former President, but they’ll still need to answer for their lapse leading up to the event, he said. It’s possible a threat, or “signal” from the shooting suspect was missed by some law enforcement agency somewhere, Bratton said.

“It was a great response after the fact — but how did it get to the fact?” Bratton said.

President Joe Biden, speaking from the White House alongside Attorney General Merrick Garland, said that the FBI will lead the investigation into the shooting and that the Secret Service has been instructed to consider additional precautions around the Republican National Convention, which starts on Monday.

The President asked the public not to rush to assumptions and to let law enforcement officials do their work.

“We don’t yet have any information about the motive of the shooter. We know who he is. I urge everyone — everyone, please, don’t make assumptions about his motives or his affiliations,” he said. “I’ve instructed that this investigation be thorough and swift. And the investigators will have every resource they need to get this done.”

Biden, who said he spoke with Trump by phone shortly after the shooting, also said he’s ordered an “independent review” of what occurred Saturday, and promised to release the results of the inquiry to the public.

In a statement Sunday, the FBI said that “this remains an active and ongoing investigation, and anyone with information that may assist with the investigation is encouraged to submit photos or videos online at fbi.gov/butler or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.”

Law enforcement officials have already received thousands of tips, and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said that online rhetoric has “ticked up” since the shooting.

The Bureau has identified Bethel Park, Pennsylvania resident Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, “as the subject involved in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on July 13, in Butler, Pennsylvania.” Early indications are that the shooter acted alone, according to the FBI.

U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, a Republican from Ohio who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, called the shooting an “unthinkable” and “unfathomable” sort of “security failure.”

“How is it that someone could get on a roof with a superior position, with a weapon, and attempt to assassinate former President Donald Trump?” he asked.

Bratton said that if he were advising the former President on matters of security he would be encouraged to stop holding outdoor events for now.

“Open events are a nightmare, they are a nightmare to try and secure,” he said.

Part of the problem with security on Saturday may be attributed to staffing at the agency tasked with protecting Presidents and former Presidents, Bratton said.

With both Trump and Biden campaigning across the country in the lead up to November’s general election, the Secret Service is undoubtedly “spread a little thin,” he said, and that means they have to rely more and more on local law enforcement, who may not have the staffing or funding to secure a national security level event.

People should view this event as a “wake up call,” the former police commissioner said.

“This is a tragic event. It reminds people just how divided a country we are and the lengths that some people will go to vent their anger, their frustration, their hostility. The idea that a 20-year-old man would attempt to assassinate a potential future president reflects where we are,” Bratton said.

“Let’s all take a step back and try to calm down,” he said.

Bill Bratton (Herald file)
Police snipers return fire after shots were fired while Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump was speaking at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on Saturday. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)