BETHEL PARK, Pennsylvania – In addition to suspected assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks, security guards at an event in Butler, Pennsylvania, saw other suspicious individuals at the event, Pennsylvania State Police Chief Christopher Parris told the House Homeland Security Committee.
“was [Crooks] “Who was the only person identified as suspicious that day?” Rep. Andrew Garbarino asked Pennsylvania State Police Chief Christopher Parris on Tuesday.
“No, I’m not,” Paris replied.
“They discovered that Crooks was not enrolled,” Colonel Parris said. “Crooks did not make it past the high security area and into the venue.”
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An undated file photo of Thomas Matthew Crooks. Crooks is the alleged gunman behind the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Source: Fox News Digital)
Colonel Christopher L. Parris, superintendent of the Pennsylvania State Police, testifies to the House Homeland Security Committee during a hearing at the Cannon House Office Building in Washington, DC, on July 23, 2024. The committee is investigating the July 13 assassination attempt on former U.S. President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.
Police identified and tracked at least two other suspicious people that day, but after spotting Crooks on a rangefinder, he became “a special someone” and “even more suspicious,” Crooks said.
Police authorities found 20-year-old Crooks around 5:10 p.m. on July 13 and identified him as the suspect.
At 5:41 p.m., about 20 minutes before former President Donald Trump was due to take the stage, a sniper spotted Crooks looking at his phone and rangefinder, took a photo and sent it to a “sniper group” chat.
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Undated photograph of Thomas Matthew Crookes. (Courtesy of AFP)
“The text exchange continued,” Paris said Wednesday. “At the point where he used the RangeFinger, police took his photo. Suspicions were heightened. I know from the interview that this was immediately communicated by command to the Secret Service.”
A little over 10 minutes later, Secret Service agents found Trump on the roof of a building about 150 yards from the podium where he was scheduled to speak. Police officers had been stationed to monitor the roof, but a whistleblower told Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley that the officers had left their posts because it was “too hot.”
Less than 20 minutes later, Crooks fired a volley from the rooftop.
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The illustration shows a bird’s-eye view of a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the perspective of an alleged assassination plotter. (Fox News)
“in front [Trump] I continued speaking… just to be clear, [Crooks] “The suspect was deemed suspicious. There was no information that he was carrying a weapon,” Paris said.
Paris said Crooks also appeared to be suspicious because he “did not come into the venue but was wandering around.”
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“For reference, there were over 100 people that day who needed or wanted medical attention because of the heat. A six-year-old child also went missing,” he added.
Fox News Digital did not immediately receive a response from Butler local police, the Secret Service or Pennsylvania State Police regarding any suspicious persons identified or detained at the July 13 rally.
Fox News Digital’s Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
