Senator Grassley releases video of aftermath of Trump shooter’s killing

US Senator Chuck Grassley released a video on Tuesday showing the aftermath of the killing of Trump’s shooter Thomas Crooks. Among other things, police officers can be seen on a roof next to his body.

Grassley on X demanded answers and accountability following the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump as he spoke at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump was shot in the ear.

Crooks was shot and killed after shooting Trump. Crooks shot and killed one other person and wounded two others when he opened fire at the event.

Bodycam video posted by Grassley, R-Iowa, shows Crooks’ body on the roof of the building from which he fired the shots. The video also shows blood next to the shooter’s body.

“We NEED detailed answers to security flaws as soon as possible,” Grassley wrote on X. “TRANSPARENCY BRINGS ACCOUNTABILITY.”

In the video, a person in a black suit and sunglasses speaks to police officers armed with rifles and wearing body armor after the shooting and subsequent killing of Crooks.

An officer points to a rifle lying on the roof, but it is not clear whether it belongs to Crooks.

The officer whose body camera is recording mentions that a sniper saw a person coming off a bike and setting down a backpack, but lost sight of him. It is not clear in the video if the officer is talking about Crooks.

Grassley wrote that the video was obtained at the request of Congress from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit. The Beaver County Sheriff’s Office has a unit of that name, a tactical team that responds to high-risk incidents.

The U.S. Secret Service and the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday evening.

Both Democratic and Republican members of Congress demanded answers about how Crooks could open fire on a former president, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General said it had launched three investigations into the incident.

The director of the US secret service, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned on Tuesday. In her resignation letter, she wrote that she takes “full responsibility for the security breach.”

The motive of the crooks is not yet known.

Pennsylvania State Police Chief Colonel Christopher Paris said Tuesday at a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee that Crooks had already been classified as a suspect before the shooting.

Crooks was observed “loitering and he caught their attention because he never found his way to an entrance to the venue”, meaning that Crooks was loitering but did not attempt to get in, and that Crooks was later seen using a rangefinder.

Paris said the Butler County task force tasked with securing the building from which Crooks fired the shots relayed the suspicion and a photograph of Crooks to state police, who in turn relayed the message to the Secret Service.

Crooks was not considered an actual threat until seconds before he opened fire, Paris said.

Trump, now the official Republican presidential candidate, no longer plans to hold outdoor rallies after the assassination, two sources familiar with his campaign’s work say. The current plan is to hold these events indoors instead, they said.