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Two snipers left a vantage point that overlooked the gunman minutes before he attempted to assassinate Donald Trump, the Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner has testified.
Christopher Paris shared damning new details with lawmakers at a House Oversight Committee over Thomas Crooks’ shooting of the former president during a rally at Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
The police commissioner described a preliminary timeline of events — including communications between local law enforcement and Secret Service agents — from when they initially spotted Crooks in a crowd to the moment he opened fire on Trump.
Paris claimed that two officers of the Butler County Emergency Services Unit, who heralded sniper capabilities, left their posts which overlooked the rooftop where the 20-year-old gunman sat for three minutes as he fired eight rounds of his semi-automatic assault rifle.
He said that the officers left their posts after spotting a suspicious individual, who turned out to be Crooks, in an attempt to track him down and alert other officers.
Separately, Paris testified that a municipal officer came face-to-face with Crooks “minutes” before the “first shots rang,” striking Trump in the ear, killing one rallygoer and injuring two more.
He claimed that state police sent an alert and photo of Crooks to the Secret Service via a phone number it provided to state authorities.
Committee Chair Mark Green said he was “totally blown away” that federal agents didn’t pull the event after receiving the warning. North Carolina Representative Dan Bishop slammed a “colossal failure” by the Secret Service.
Paris’ testimony comes less than 24 hours after the embattled director of the Secret Service, Kimberley Cheatle, resigned from her post on Tuesday after her disastrous display during the House Oversight Committee.
“As your director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she said in a statement.
Bodycam footage of the aftermath of the assassination attempt, including of Crooks’ bloody corpse after he was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper, was released on Tuesday.
It includes officers discussing how the gunman was on their radar before he opened fire.
The graphic video was released by Senator Chuck Grassley via his X account on Tuesday night, as both Democratic and Republican lawmakers continue to demand answers over the shooting.
The footage shines further light on how law enforcement agents at the rally site in Butler, Pennsylvania, were aware of a suspicious person in the lead up to the attack — but failed to stop him in time.
The video shows various agents and police officers standing over Crooks’ body on the rooftop of the building which he had scaled to get a direct vantage point of the presidential candidate on stage. A rifle is seen lying close by.
“This is the guy,” one agent is heard saying.
Investigators have since said that they do not believe anyone else was involved in the assassination attempt and that Crooks, a local resident, acted alone.
