Authorities are digging deeper into the shooting at a Donald Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
On July 13, 2024, a 20-year-old man named Thomas Matthews Crooks opened fire, injuring the former president, killing one attendee, and wounding several others.
Crooks was killed by government snipers shortly after the shooting began. Recently uncovered details reveal significant communication lapses that could have potentially prevented the tragedy.
Donald Trump was at the rally to speak to his supporters when Crooks fired eight shots from an assault rifle.
One bullet grazed Trump’s ear, while others struck people in the crowd, resulting in one death and multiple injuries. This shocking incident raised serious questions about security measures and coordination among law enforcement agencies.
New information obtained by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley and published by the New York Times shows that local law enforcement had spotted Crooks 30 minutes earlier than officials had initially stated.
Text messages between local security units reveal that a countersniper first noticed Crooks loitering near the rally site more than 90 minutes before the shooting occurred. Despite recognizing him as a potential threat, communication failures prevented timely action.
The countersniper alerted his colleagues at 4:26 PM, noting that Crooks had parked near their vehicles and was sitting on a picnic table close to the warehouse where several countersnipers were positioned.
He mentioned that Crooks seemed aware of their presence and saw him leaving with a rifle. Photos of Crooks were taken and shared in a group chat among local officers. At 5:38 PM, another text message suggested notifying the Secret Service, but it appears this critical information was not effectively communicated.
According to Butler County officials, one of the countersnipers tried to keep an eye on Crooks until other law enforcement arrived, but Crooks managed to escape, taking a backpack with him.
At around 6 PM, officers believed Crooks was moving away from the event. However, Crooks climbed onto a building in the complex closest to the stage.
At 6:11 PM, Crooks began firing from the roof of a warehouse, which was connected to the one where the countersnipers were stationed. The shooting lasted only moments before Crooks was shot and killed by snipers.
The newly released messages suggest that Crooks was often one step ahead of security forces. He had scoped out the rally site a day before the Secret Service did on July 8.
The Secret Service had excluded the entire warehouse complex from its inner security perimeter, allowing Crooks to reach the building without passing through security screening on the day of the rally.
The Secret Service had asked local agencies for more help after their walk-through on July 8, but Beaver County struggled to find enough volunteers to cover the 12-hour shift.
There were also issues with the planned face-to-face briefing between the local SWAT team and Secret Service agents, which never happened.
Jason Woods, lead sharpshooter on the SWAT team in Beaver County, told ABC News that they had no contact with the Secret Service agents before the shooting. This lack of coordination further compounded the security lapses that allowed Crooks to carry out the attack.
The FBI continues to investigate the incident. FBI Director Christopher Wray testified to the House Judiciary Committee that Crooks had used a drone to scope out the rally location about two hours before the attack.
The drone, along with two explosive devices, was found in Crooks' car. Wray also mentioned that the AR-style rifle used in the attack might have had a collapsible stock, making it easier to conceal.
Crooks had searched online for information about the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy and other public figures, including Wray, U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, Joe Biden, and Trump.
Despite these insights, the FBI has not yet determined Crooks' exact motivations or ideology. Wray noted that Crooks seemed interested in public figures more broadly and had also searched for information on major depressive disorder.
In the days following the shooting, Trump called for unity, emphasizing the need for Americans to stand together against evil. However, his subsequent speeches have reverted to attacking Democrats and accusing them of election fraud.
Trump's supporters and members of his Secret Service detail have questioned why they were not informed about Crooks being spotted before the shooting. The Secret Service has committed to understanding what went wrong and ensuring such an incident does not happen again.
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