The footage shows the body camera perspective of multiple Butler Township Police Department in the minutes leading up to shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks ‘ attempt on the former president’s life which left Trump with an ear wound.
In one of the videos, an officer is seen lifting another officer onto the roof of the building where the gunman was perched. As he climbs up, he sees Crooks point his gun at him causing him to fall to the ground and run to grab his rifle.
Seconds later, Crooks opens fire on Trump.
“F**king this close bro,” the officer who saw Crooks is heard saying to another officer. “Dude, he turned around on me.”
“Who’s got eyes on him?” the officer asks. “He was right where you picked me up, bro. He was on that left side.”
The attack on July 13 happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, as Trump was speaking to a large crowd while on the campaign trail.
The U.S. Secret Service shot and killed Crooks seconds after he opened fire at Trump. A bullet appeared to go past Trump grazing the side of his face.
Several other videos show the response by other officers on the scene. Many were securing the area telling rallygoers to leave.
The shooting took the life of Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old former fire chief attending the rally. Comperatore was seated in bleachers between where Crooks was positioned and where Trump was standing.
Two spectators were critically wounded. One of the injured spectators was seated in the bleachers to the left of Trump as he faced forward.
The attack was the most serious attempt to assassinate a president or presidential candidate since President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe criticized local authorities in a joint Senate committee for a communications breakdown between agencies protecting the former president.
But Pat Young, the chief of detectives for Beaver County who was tasked with securing the area around Trump’s rally, said they had no communication with the federal authorities that day.
Young insists that it was his team that spotted the shooter roughly an hour before the actual shooting took place. He said they raised it up the chain of command and said what happens beyond that is up to the Secret Service.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local Pennsylvania State
Most Popular
Comments / 0