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More footage from July 13 is circulating online after a U.S. senator shared a video on X, showing the body of the shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks on the rooftop after he was killed by law enforcement.
The 20-year-old’s legs can be seen with a trail of what appears to be blood flowing down off the roof. A firearm further away from Crooks’ body can be seen in the background. It is not clear if it was the one used by Crooks.
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An off-camera voice, which appears to be that of the officer wearing the body camera, can be heard explaining to a man in a suit that a sniper had noticed Crooks, and had taken and shared photos of him, but had then “lost sight of him.”
“Bodycam footage provides more info than Secret Service will share (with) America. We NEED detailed answers ASAP on security failures. TRANSPARENCY BRINGS ACCOUNTABILITY,” wrote Senator Chuck Grassley in his post on X on Tuesday.
The video was obtained from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit in Pennsylvania in compliance with congressional requests, according to Grassley.
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Information about the assassination attempt on July 13 has been trickling out, although a motive and a timeline of the day’s events are still unclear.
On Tuesday, a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing was held to examine how Crooks was able to carry out the assassination attempt in Butler, Penn. It is believed that the shooter acted as a lone gunman. The hearing comes after Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned earlier the same day. She came under fire for reported lapses in security.
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During the hours-long hearing, the commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police Col. Christopher L. Paris testified. He was asked how many rounds the shooter fired before he was killed.
“I believe that the number is eight. Eight casings have been recovered,” said Paris.
In another line of questioning, Paris was asked if the casings were all discovered in the vicinity of Crooks’ body.
“I’m told that they were,” he answered.
Politicians at the hearing tried to determine a more comprehensible sequence of events. It was revealed that two local officers had an interaction with Crooks roughly three minutes before the shooting.
“It became apparent at some point that (Crooks) was on the roof,” said Paris.
Two municipal officers went to the building and searched its perimeter. One officer gave the other a boost to try to gain access to the roof. While that officer was “hanging from the ledge,” Crooks approached.
“The municipal officer saw Crooks. Crooks saw him and Crooks turned and levelled the gun at him,” said Paris.
The officer was not able to draw a weapon and he dropped back down. Paris said he believes that it was after this encounter that some attendees at the rally began filming the rooftop, noticing that someone was there. Videos from witnesses attending the rally have been widely circulated online.
There were other law enforcement officers who were on the ground at that point, said Paris, but they were unable to see Crooks from their vantage point.
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