Butler, Pennsylvania – Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe said video footage of someone moving on a roof minutes before former President Trump was shot confirmed the “failure.”
An exclusive Fox News Digital video filmed by Jim Copenhaver, one of the victims seriously injured in the July 13 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, shows a figure moving across the roof of the American Glass Research (AGR) building minutes before shots rang out at President Trump’s rally.
“Looking at this, I believe this was a failure,” Rowe told reporters on Friday. “We should have done more to protect it. We should have done more to cover the roof line for the people we were protecting.”
“From a Secret Service perspective, there should have been at least another set of eyes. The building was very close to the perimeter. We should have had more eyes.”
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Acting Director of the United States Secret Service Ronald L. Rowe Jr. attends a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 30, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Mohat)
In the video taken at 6:08 p.m. on July 13, a person appears on the roof of a building adjacent to where President Trump is speaking, and is seen walking from the 1 minute 00 second mark to around 2 minutes 50 seconds.
Authorities believe suspect Thomas Crooks began firing with a folding AR-15 style rifle three minutes later, at about 6:11 pm, firing eight shots into the crowd, aiming at the former president.
Video taken from the perspective of the victim of the Trump assassination attempt shows a figure moving across a rooftop moments before the shooting
A counter sniper shot and killed Crooks a short time later, and law enforcement officials found eight shell casings near his body.
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Exclusive footage shows Crooks on the roof of AGR before the shooting, and other videos taken by rally attendees show passersby pointing at him on the roof and capturing the reactions of police officers trying to find him.
One user of X, @realDJStew724 captured footage of local police officers with their guns drawn surrounding the building where the would-be assassin of President Trump was crouching, two minutes before Crooks shot and killed President Trump.
The footage was filmed at the base of the AGR building, where Trump supporters had gathered to listen to the rally on the perimeter.
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On Saturday, July 13, 2024, Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump was speaking at a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania when gunfire erupted and a police sniper returned fire. (AP Photo/Jean J. Puskar)
As police begin to surround the AGR building, where Crooks was holding an AR-15-style rifle, Trump can be heard taking to the stage and beginning to speak.
Secret Service, FBI respond to Trump rally video showing figure on roof minutes before shooting
“Oh my God, there’s someone in this building,” said X-user Dave.
“Right now this whole f***ing building has f***ing cops surrounding it,” another woman can be heard saying.
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The next two minutes of Dave’s footage unfolds as a bystander near the AGR building urges others to “get small”.
“Get small, bro,” I hear Dave say. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
“Get off and hide behind this tree,” said another. “I see a big clump of hair.”
After the final gunshot rings out, Dave can be heard asking someone, “Did they shoot him?”
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A police sniper was on the roof of the rally where the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump took place. (Todd the Driller)
Following the chaotic moments leading up to Mr Crooks’ shooting and the minutes immediately following, additional police officers were seen running around the perimeter of the AGR building.
“He said it was a confirmed kill,” David can be heard saying after officers are heard discussing the sniper who shot Crooks. “He said it was a confirmed kill.”
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A diagram showing the sniper team locations for the assassination attempt at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. (Fox News)
Witness accounts of the shooting have shed light on what local police officers were doing moments before the incident that injured three people, including President Trump, and killed firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was killed while trying to protect his family.
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A Secret Service security failure has led to congressional hearings being held to investigate how Crooks managed to climb undetected to the roof of the AGR building and nearly assassinate the former president.
Fox News’ Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
