Pennsylvania police chief reveals new details about Trump shooting

The Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner revealed new details about the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump in a hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday.

Col. Christopher Paris, chief of the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), testified before the House Oversight Committee one day after former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle appeared, drawing bipartisan ire for blocking nearly every question, citing ongoing investigations.

Paris also said many questions would be addressed in his agency’s debriefing report, but he did provide some new information during the hearing as lawmakers try to understand how 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks got onto a rooftop and opened fire on Trump during the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Here are five new details from Paris’ statement:

Fraudsters were identified through informal channels

According to Paris, Crooks was first identified as a “suspicious” person by members of the local police when he failed to enter the security area before the rally.

The officers, members of Butler’s Emergency Services Unit (ESU), became concerned when they saw him using a rangefinder and decided to contact the command center, which was monitored by the Secret Service.

“A Pennsylvania State Police officer at the command post received this information by phone and text message, passed it on to the Secret Service and was then given a number to follow up on the case,” Paris said.

When asked by lawmakers whether Paris knew what the Secret Service contact did with the photo after it was sent to that number, he said he did not know.

The informal nature of the communication raised questions among committee members as to why the threat assessments were not transmitted through official channels such as digital radio and whether this text stream might have been a cause of the communication breakdown.

Eight shots were fired at the rally

Crooks fired eight shots at the rally before being neutralized by Secret Service agents, Paris said in response to a question from Republican Rep. Eric Swalwell of California.

“I think there are eight,” Paris said. “Eight shell casings were found.”

He further stated that police found eight bullet casings next to Crooks’ body.

Cheatle refused to provide information about the number of shots fired at the rally during her hearing on Monday.

Previously, police officials had only stated that the shooter had fired several shots into the demonstration.

Officials overlooking the roof left their posts

After the two Butler ESU officers stationed on the second floor of the AGR building identified Crooks as a suspect, they left their post to shadow Crooks, according to Paris.

In a video shown during the hearing, deputies showed that officers had a clear view of the position Crooks eventually took from their original location.

“Are you saying, from your knowledge, that the ESU officers left the location where they could look out the window to look for this person?” Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) asked Paris.

“Yes, that is my understanding,” Paris replied.

The roof from which Crooks fired his shots was only about 135 meters from the President’s lectern and offered a clear line of fire, but was outside the Secret Service’s security perimeter.

The shooter spent about 3 minutes on the roof

Paris said the gunman was on the roof for about three minutes before shooting Trump, but said he did not have an exact time frame.

A local police officer approached Crooks on the roof after he was pulled up by another officer, but he then dropped back to the ground after Crooks pointed a rifle at him, according to Paris and other officials.

Paris clarified earlier comments that two to three minutes passed between the officer’s confrontation with Crooks and the shooting.

“That’s probably the total time he spent on the roof … when one local officer lifted the other and then fell,” he said.

Paris said only seconds passed between the officer falling and Crooks’ shooting.

Videos have emerged showing members of the crowd at the rally attempting to warn police about Crooks after he climbed onto the roof, although it is unclear how long he had been there.

The secret service dispatched local officials to their posts

Although local and state law enforcement helped with the security operation for the former president’s rally, they had no say in how it was organized – even outside the rally’s security perimeter. That included how they covered the building from which Crooks fired.

The Butler ESU members who left their posts to find Crooks on the ground were sent by intelligence to their posts in the AGR building, Paris said.

One of the main questions raised by lawmakers at this week’s hearing was why there were no agents or police stationed on the roof, even though it was close to the stage.

“I would say again that the primary responsibility for making these calls, making these decisions and developing the operational plans rests with the Secret Service,” said Patrick Yoes, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, who testified alongside Paris.

A PSP area chief who attended the walkabout on July 11, two days before the rally, reported to Paris that he had flagged the roof used by Crooks as a potential problem. Intelligence agents assured the chief that the area was covered by Butler’s ESU.

“I think you both have stated that the ultimate responsibility for the events of that day lies with the Secret Service,” concluded Republican Rep. Michael Guest of Mississippi.