Bodycam footage indicates gunman was spotted prior to assassination attempt
Body camera footage released Tuesday, July 23, indicates that a Beaver County officer spotted the gunman prior to the shooting July 13 at the campaign rally for former President Donald Trump.
The video, released by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-IA, is from a body camera of a Beaver County Emergency Services Unit officer speaking with a U.S. Secret Service member on the roof of American Glass Research (AGR) International.
The video shows Beaver County officers speaking with a Secret Service agent about the timeline of events July 13 and result of the assassination attempt of Trump at the Butler Farm Show. The body of the gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, can be seen nearby on the rooftop within the video.
“This is the guy... Beaver County snipers [saw] and sent the pictures out. This is him,” a voice says on the footage.
Grassley said in a news release containing the video that the video confirms that local law enforcement saw the shooter prior to his presence on the roof and shared pictures of the suspected shooter with the Secret Service. Grassley also said the video confirms that law enforcement lost track of the suspected shooter and sought access to a drone to secure the water tower after the shooting.
The conversation recorded on the body camera footage shows an officer named Greg “sent the original pictures” and then “lost sight of him.”
The conversation also notes that there were three victims in the crowd.
Members of the House Committee on Homeland Security visited the Butler Farm Show Monday morning, July 22, to learn more about the attempted assassination attempt which left a Buffalo Township man, Corey Comperatore, dead and three other men injured, including Trump. Their questions mirrored Grassley’s, who said in the news release he had concerns about law enforcement’s use of Unmanned Aerial Systems at the rally, and the status of the water tower near the farm show grounds.
He asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service to respond to his questions about the rally’s security by July 30.
“This assassination attempt is a matter of significant public interest, and the public’s business ought to be public,” Grassley said. “I’m releasing these records as part of my efforts to get answers and hold agencies accountable.”
