Law enforcement officers gather at campaign rally site for Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is empty Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa.Evan Vucci/The Associated Press
Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe says that when his officers were notified about a suspicious person at former president Donald Trump’s Saturday rally, there was no mention of any weapon. By the time one of his officers spotted the individual on a rooftop, the man was holding a rifle.
“When did the gun get to the roof?” Mr. Slupe asked in an interview with The Globe and Mail. “Was it the night before? And I’m not telling you something that I know – I’m asking the question myself.”
How the shooter – whom police have identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks – was able to get a gun so close to Mr. Trump’s July 13 rally in Butler, Pa., will be a central question for the FBI, which is investigating the shooting.
Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe told the Associated Press that a local officer climbed to the roof and encountered Thomas Matthew Crooks, who saw the officer and turned toward him just before the officer dropped down to safety.Sue Ogrocki/The Associated Press
Explainer: What we know so far about the Trump assassination attempt
The Secret Service defended its role in the incident Monday, while Pennsylvania State Police said it was not responsible for securing the building or property used by the shooter.
U.S. Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle said in a statement Monday that their personnel on the ground “moved quickly during the incident, with our counter sniper team neutralizing the shooter and our agents implementing protective measures to ensure the safety of former president Donald Trump.”
Lieutenant Adam Reed, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Police, said the force provided all the resources requested by the Secret Service for Mr. Trump’s rally, including 30 to 40 troopers to assist with securing the inside perimeter. But he said the department “was not responsible for securing the building or property” at AGR International, the manufacturing facility where the shooter was stationed on the roof.
Location of assassination attempt:
Butler Farm Show grounds
Butler
HWY. 68
MERIDIAN RD.
PENNSYLVANIA
PENN.
1 km
Butler Farm Show grounds
Law enforcement
snipers
125 metres
MAIN ST.
Roof where suspected
gunman’s body
was located
Stage area where
Trump was injured
john sopinski/the globe and mail, Source: openstreetmap;
new york times; nbc news; google earth image
Location of assassination attempt:
Butler Farm Show grounds
Butler
HWY. 68
MERIDIAN RD.
PENNSYLVANIA
PENN.
1 km
Butler Farm Show grounds
Law enforcement
snipers
125 metres
MAIN ST.
Roof where suspected
gunman’s body
was located
Stage area where
Trump was injured
john sopinski/the globe and mail, Source: openstreetmap;
new york times; nbc news; google earth image
Location of assassination attempt:
Butler Farm Show grounds
Butler
HWY. 68
MERIDIAN RD.
PENNSYLVANIA
PENN.
1 km
Butler Farm Show grounds
Law enforcement
snipers
125 metres
MAIN ST.
Roof where suspected
gunman’s body was
located
Stage area where
Trump was injured
john sopinski/the globe and mail, Source: openstreetmap;
new york times; nbc news; google earth image
The FBI said Monday that it has gained access to Mr. Crooks’s phone and continues to analyze his electronic devices. The FBI has completed its search of his car and home and conducted nearly 100 interviews, but there is still no known motive for the shooter’s actions. The gun was purchased legally.
Mr. Trump was just minutes into his speech Saturday when the shooter fired a series of shots at the podium, killing one rally attendee and injuring two others. Mr. Trump’s ear was injured in the shooting. A Secret Service sniper killed Mr. Crooks seconds later.
About half a dozen different agencies were involved in security for the event, including the Secret Service, the Butler sheriff’s office, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Butler Township Police Department. The sheriff’s office has 34 officers in total, Mr. Slupe said, with six deputies assigned to the rally.
The officers were assigned tasks such as working the metal detectors and were stationed at the command post. Before Mr. Trump’s speech, Mr. Slupe said, they received reports of a suspicious person on the grounds and were given a photo of the individual to help them in their search.
“The police responded immediately, and when that [report] was sent, there was no mention of a gun,” he said.
The sheriff said he is still not clear on the exact chain of events, as the shooting is still under investigation, but it’s his understanding that some people at the rally alerted officers to an individual hiding on the roof of a low building not far from the stage.
Donald Trump was rushed off stage after what appeared to be gun shots rang out during a speech in Pennsylvania. In footage from the rally, Trump can be seen clutching suddenly at the right side of his face as security responds to the incident.
From there, his officers went to the building, and an officer gave his colleague a boost up. The officer gripped the edge of the roof to see if anyone was up there. Mr. Slupe said it’s crucial to remember that the officer was not expecting to see someone with a gun.
“I don’t know if he popped his head up. I don’t know how far he was up. I don’t know any of that, but the shooter apparently saw or heard him and turned toward him. The officer let go and fell to the ground,” the sheriff said.
At that point, the shooter took aim and fired at Mr. Trump. Within seconds, the shooter was killed by a sniper.
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“The officers did exactly what they’re trained to do, and acted and reacted exactly how they should have,” Mr. Slupe said. “And if I were in a similar situation, I would have done exactly what they would have done.”
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump raises his fist as he arrives Day 1 of the Republican National Convention.Jeenah Moon/Reuters
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Mr. Slupe said he had been sitting just two rows back from the stage where Mr. Trump entered. He, like many, thought the loud pops were firecrackers. Earlier in the day, his office had received a noise complaint about someone setting off fireworks about a kilometre from the rally.
On Sunday, President Joe Biden ordered an independent review of the security measures in place at the rally. He also directed the Secret Service to review its plans for the Republican National Convention this week.
“A direct line of sight like that to the former president should not occur,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC News Monday morning. “That is precisely why President Biden directed that an independent review of the incident occur.”
Ms. Cheatle said the Secret Service will participate fully in the review and will work with congressional committees on oversight.
“The Secret Service is working with all involved Federal, state and local agencies to understand what happened, how it happened, and how we can prevent an incident like this from ever taking place again,” she said in the statement.
Police opened up the streets surrounding Mr. Crooks’s home, located in Bethel Park, Pa., after bomb technicians cleared the area of potential threats late Sunday night.
Mr. Crooks was a member of the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, a shooting range located about 25 minutes east of the area.
Reached by phone Monday, club president Bill Sellitto confirmed Mr. Crooks’s membership but referred further questions to their lawyer.
“I wish I could say more,” Mr. Sellitto said. “He was there very little. It was a horrific, terrible thing that happened on Saturday.”
A home believed to be connected to the shooter in the assassination attempt of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, Monday, July 15, 2024, in Bethel Park, Pa. Investigators are hunting for any clues about what may have driven Thomas Matthew Crooks to try to assassinate Trump.Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press
Robert Bootay, a lawyer representing the club, said he was unable to make any additional commentary in relation in light of pending law enforcement investigations. “Obviously, the club fully admonishes the senseless act of violence that occurred on Saturday,” he said in a statement, adding his condolences to the family of 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, who died in the shooting, the two other injured men and Mr. Trump.
Mr. Crooks graduated in May with an associate in science degree in engineering sciences, the Community College of Allegheny County confirmed in a statement Monday.
The Crooks residence is a modest, single-storey brick home at the bottom of a valley in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park. Two cars were parked in the driveway Monday morning, but police were still restricting access to the house.
FBI agents canvassed the area around the Crooks home Monday, knocking on doors and asking local residents what they knew about the family.
Two men in blue shirts, one with a clipboard, approached the Crooks family home shortly before 10 a.m. After knocking twice, the door opened. The men departed a few minutes later.