BUTLER, Pennsylvania — Police in Pennsylvania have released bodycam footage showing two officers attempting to restrain Thomas Matthew Crooks on a rooftop seconds before he allegedly tried to assassinate former President Trump at a campaign rally last month.
The footage, released Thursday, is from two Butler Township Police Department officers who attempted to stop Crooks before he fired his DPMS AR-15 rifle over former President Trump’s ear, killing Corey Comperatore and injuring two others.
One officer led the other officer up to the roof where Crooks was stationed, which was about 12 feet above the ground.
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An officer signals another officer to head up to the roof where Crooks was stationed (Butler Township Police Department)
Crooks pointed his weapon at the officer who was climbing the building before he eventually ducked his head and lost his grip on the edge of the roof and fell about eight feet to the ground, spraining his ankle, Butler Township Manager Thomas Knights Fox News Digital was previously told,
Crooks is not captured in the video.
Pearson told a local newspaper that the officer could not retrieve his weapon because he was hanging from the building.
A few seconds later, Crooks fired a shot, grazed Trump’s right ear. Three people attending the rally were also shot. Including Corey Comperatore50-year-old who died while saving his family from danger.
David Deutch and James Copenhaver were injured in the shooting at the rally. They have both returned home and Deutch gave an exclusive statement to Fox News on Wednesday about the deadly incident.
The footage is the latest important information publicly available that attempts to explain what really happened that day and what efforts were made to stop Crooks.
Map detailing locations of interest related to the investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump by Thomas Crooks in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Provided by Senator Chuck Grassley)
The security breaches that paved the way for the shooting have been exposed, with finger-pointing among the various agencies involved at the local, state and federal levels.
acting Ronald Rowe, Director of the Secret Service The “failure” is confirmed by a video of someone walking on a rooftop minutes before former President Trump was shot.
VideoVideo obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, taken by victim Copenhaver, shows a man walking on the roof of the American Glass Research (AGR) building minutes before gunfire began at Trump’s rally.
The FBI previously revealed that Crooks arrived at the rally site at 11 a.m. on the day of the shooting and spent an hour there before heading home.
The crooks didn’t return to the scene until 3:50 p.m. Local law enforcement officers, at their designated posts, first spotted them around 5:10 p.m. — about 50 minutes earlier. Trump comes on stageAccording to documents obtained by Fox News Digital senator chuck grassleyR-Iowa, who obtained them from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit (ESU).
According to the FBI, while returning to the rally site, Crooks flew the drone about 200 yards from the site of Trump’s speech. The FBI later said no photos or video were taken from the drone and the agency found no memory card in the drone.
Trump assassination attempt: New texts reveal local police struggled to help cover rally
At 5:30 pm the local police photographed Crooks and reported it to command.
“Kid is learning around the building we are in,” one officer wrote in a text message, along with a photo of Crooks. “I think it’s AGR. I saw him with a rangefinder looking towards the stage. FYI. If you wish, inform the SS snipers to watch out.”
“I lost him,” the officer said.
This was followed by a message that said: “Call it to command and have someone in uniform come check it out.”
By 6:12 p.m., “the kid” would be killed by a counter-sniper he then began firing Attack on people participating in the rally.
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Thomas Matthew Crooks is pictured in front of the Butler Fairgrounds after the attempted assassination of the former president on July 14, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Bethel Park School District/Getty Images)
Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe said New York Post It was previously said that the officers who stopped Crooks may have created enough of a distraction to save Trump’s life.
“If I’m stopped, and I pull out my gun, you have to reevaluate the whole situation at that point, so yes, you could make a case that those two officers saved the president’s life,” Slup told the outlet.
Slupe said, “timing is everything” and interrupting the shooter. Bought Trump For a few seconds he had to miraculously turn his head so that the bullet would only hit his ear.
“Can you think back to 10 seconds ago?” the sheriff asked, “when the president was looking straight ahead and where the bullet potentially would have landed.”
Fox News is reviewing digital bodycam footage. This post will be updated.
Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Wheaton contributed to this report.
