麻豆影视

Skip to main content

Pennsylvania state police commissioner reveals stunning details about Trump shooting

Share

A local law enforcement commissioner revealed during a House Homeland Security hearing on Tuesday stunning new details about the security failures that led to the near assassination of Donald Trump, raising more questions for the embattled U.S. Secret Service.

Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris鈥檚 striking testimony comes just one day after now-resigned Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle testified before the House Oversight Committee and largely declined to answer questions about the shooting at the former president鈥檚 Pennsylvania rally.

Paris told lawmakers about the communications between the Secret Service and local law enforcement who initially spotted Thomas Matthew Crooks, the would-be assassin. He also described a more detailed timeline from when officers first spotted Crooks in the crowd to when the 20-year-old opened fire on Trump.

Here鈥檚 what to know from Tuesday鈥檚 hearing:

Officers left post to look for Crooks

 Two local law enforcement officers left a building with vantage points overlooking the roof where Crooks took aim at the former president before he fired shots, Paris testified.

Paris said that two officers with the Butler County Emergency Services Unit, a tactical force with sniper capabilities, left their posts in the building to look for a suspicious individual they spotted first and alerted to other law enforcement. That person was Crooks.

The lawmakers watched video taken during a congressional tour of the rally site Monday, from the building where the ESU officers left their post, showing the roof where Crooks eventually climbed and took shots at Trump.

鈥淪o are you then saying, to your knowledge, those ESU officers left the location where they could look out the window to go in search of this person?鈥 Republican Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina asked.

鈥淭hat is my understanding,鈥 Paris said, adding that the officers went searching with other local officers in the area. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to establish a timeline minute by minute because we don鈥檛 have that yet.鈥

Bishop also questioned whether the two officers who left their post could have seen Crooks climb on top of the roof if they had stayed put. Paris said he didn鈥檛 know.

Crooks fired eight times

Investigators believe that Crooks fired eight rounds before he was killed by counter-snipers, Paris said.

鈥淚 believe that the number is eight,鈥 Paris told the committee. 鈥淓ight casings have been recovered.鈥

Officials had previously only confirmed that the shooter fired multiple times at the rally earlier this month.

Paris also told members of Congress that 鈥渟everal Secret Service agents鈥 told the state police area commander during a walkthrough of the area before the rally that the Butler County Emergency Services Unit was responsible for securing the building where Crooks fired the shots.

Minutes, not seconds

A municipal officer came face-to-face with Crooks several minutes before the would-be assassin fired on Trump, Paris testified.

Paris said that the brief confrontation came as a pair of local officers who had learned of Crooks鈥檚 position on the roof attempted to climb up and confront the shooter. But while the officer was 鈥渄angling鈥 from the roof, Crooks aimed his rifle at the officer and the officer fell.

鈥淚f the first shots rang out at 18:11 (6:11 pm), the hoisting up of the officer occurred probably no more 鈥 again I鈥檓 going to give you a time but I want to just put it in the context of a sequence of events 鈥 I would say at most two and a half to three minutes before that first shot rang out,鈥 Paris said.

鈥淚t was minutes. It was a very short period of time,鈥 Paris said.

鈥淏ut not seconds?鈥 Rep. Dan Goldman, a New York Democrat, asked.

鈥淚 would say minutes,鈥 Paris said, adding he was answering to the best of his knowledge.

Paris said that whether, or when, the confrontation was relayed to the Secret Service or other law enforcement agencies at the rally 鈥渞emains under investigation.鈥

Communications between Secret Service and local law enforcement

Paris also detailed communications among law enforcement about Crooks before Trump took the stage at the rally earlier this month.

According to Paris, 鈥渢here was a text thread going鈥 with members of the Butler County Emergency Services Unit, some of whom initially spotted Crooks and reported him as a suspicious individual.

鈥淎t some point when he utilized the range finder, the suspicion was heightened,鈥 Paris said of Crooks.

State Police then received a call and a text from the ESU about Crooks鈥檚 activity that they immediately relayed to Secret Service. Local, state and federal law enforcement were in a unified command post at the rally.

State Police 鈥渧erbally turned right around and gave it to the Secret Service,鈥 Paris said.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.

A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.

Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Mont茅r茅gie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.

A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.