Pennsylvania’s police commissioner revealed new details surrounding the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump at a Tuesday hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee.
Col. Christopher Paris, chief of the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), testified one day after now-former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle appeared before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. She has drawn bipartisan ire for blocking nearly every line of questioning, citing ongoing investigations.
Paris also said many issues would be addressed in his agency’s after-action report. But he offered new information during the hearing as lawmakers seek to understand how 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed onto a roof and opened fire on Trump during the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Here are five new details from Paris’ testimony:
Criminals were identified using informal channels
Crooks was first identified as a “suspicious” person by members of local authorities when he failed to enter the secure area before the rally, according to Paris.
The officers, members of Butler’s Emergency Services Unit (ESU), were concerned when they saw him using a rangefinder and decided to contact the command center, which was overseen by the Secret Service.
“A member of the Pennsylvania State Police within the command post received this information by phone and text message, relayed it to the Secret Service and was given a follow-up number,” Paris said.
When lawmakers pressed whether Paris knew what the Secret Service contact did with the photo after it was sent to that number, he said he didn’t know.
The informal mode of communication raised questions among committee members about why threat assessments were not communicated through formal channels such as digital radio, and whether or not that thread of text may have been a source of the miscommunication. .
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 Rep. Eric Swalwell (R-Calif.).
“I believe the number is eight,” said Paris. “Eight shell casings were recovered.”
He further specified that the police discovered eight bullet casings near Crooks’ body.
Cheatle refused to address a series of shots fired at the rally during his hearing on Monday.
Previously, police said only that the gunman fired several rounds at the rally.
Officers overlooking the roof left their post
After identifying Crooks as a suspicious person, the two ESU Butler officers stationed on the second floor of the AGR building left their post to follow Crooks, according to Paris.
In a video presented during the hearing, lawmakers showed that the officers’ original post had a clear view of the position Crooks eventually took.
“Are you saying, to the best of your knowledge, that those ESU officers left the place where they could look out the window for this person?” Rep. Dan Bishop (RN.C.) asked Paris.
“Yes, that is my understanding,” Paris replied.
The roof from which Crooks fired was only approximately 147 yards from the former president’s podium and offered a clear shot, but fell outside the Secret Service’s security perimeter.
Shooter spent about 3 minutes on the roof
Paris said the shooter spent about three minutes on the roof before shooting Trump, but cautioned that he had no set timeline.
A local police officer approached Crooks on the roof after being hoisted up by another officer — but fell back to the ground after Crooks pointed a rifle at him, according to Paris and other authorities.
Paris clarified previous comments, suggesting that 2 to 3 minutes passed from the time the officer confronted Crooks to the time the shots were fired.
“That’s probably a total number of time, amount of time, that he was on the roof … when one local officer hoisted the other and subsequently fell,” he said.
Paris said only a few seconds passed between the time the officer fell and Crooks fired.
Videos emerged showing members of the crowd at the rally trying to alert authorities about Crooks once he crawled onto the roof, although it was unclear how long he had been there.
The Secret Service assigned local officers to their posts
Although local and state authorities helped with the security operation of the former president’s rally, they had no say in its design – even outside the rally’s secure perimeter. And that extended to how they covered the building the bandits fired from.
The ESU Butler members who left their post to meet Crooks on the ground were assigned to their posts inside the AGR building by the Secret Service, Paris said.
One of the main questions from lawmakers at this week’s hearing was why there were no officers or police stationed on the roof, given its proximity to the stage.
“I would say that, again, the primary responsibility for making those calls, making those decisions and making the operational plans will be with the Secret Service,” said Patrick Yoes, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, who testified alongside Paris.
A PSP area commander who joined the visit on July 11, two days before the rally, reported to Paris that he had flagged the roof used by the bandits as a potential problem. Secret Service agents assured the commander that the area would be covered by Butler’s ESU.
“I think you have both stated that the ultimate responsibility for what occurred that day lies with the Secret Service,” Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.) concluded.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
