Bombshell police radio transmissions from Trump assassination attempt lay bare shambolic 29 minute hunt for shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks: ‘We lost sight of him’

Shocking police radio reports about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump have exposed the chaotic 29-minute search for the shooter.

A transcription obtained by the Washington Postreveals the communications delays and other blunders that allowed Thomas Matthew Crooks to open fire during the July 13 meeting.

The recording shows officers losing sight of Crooks for as long as 20 minutes after he was identified as a suspect.

“Just so you know, we had a younger white male, long hair, hanging around the AGR building,” a sniper said at 5:42 p.m., according to the transcript. “He was being viewed with a rangefinder that was tracking the podium. … We lost sight of him.”

Crooks then fired a hail of bullets, wounding Trump. Also killed was Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old supporter of the former president. Two others were seriously wounded at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The tragedy was partly possible because no one from the Secret Service was present to hear the sniper’s message, as they were in a separate command center 300 yards away.

This meant that these and other communications had to take place via other means, such as mobile phones, despite the fact that reception in the area was poor on the day of the demonstration.

The transcript shows that the anti-sniper’s initial message set off a chain reaction of messages among local officers.

While one of the deputies was mistakenly told that Crooks was wearing a “white shirt with a hat,” the description the sniper gave was “gray T-shirt, light colored khaki shorts.”

After officers lost sight of Crooks, he was not seen again for 20 minutes, the transcript shows.

Elsewhere, Sergeant Ed Lenz, the tactical commander of the Butler County Mobile Unit, had received the counter-sniper message around 5:44 p.m.

According to an official and call records, he used his cellphone to call a Secret Service agent.

According to the official, Sergeant Joseph Olayer then passed the information on to his Secret Service colleagues in the trailer.

Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris told a congressional hearing that one of his aides received the call, along with texts containing images of Crooks, and was instructed to pass the information on to the Secret Service.

However, poor mobile phone reception made it difficult for officers to distribute the images quickly.

A local tactical team indicated at 5:47 p.m. that they were trying to send the photos, but at 5:49 p.m. they received a response alerting them to the problems.

“Units are to be notified that internet and cell phone service are unavailable,” another officer said on that channel a minute later.

“Your photo probably won’t go through because I don’t have cell service,” a deputy said.

Around this time, state officials reported that they had alerted Secret Service sniper teams.

However, at 5:49 p.m. the officers lost sight of him.

“Our Sierra units never saw him again,” Lenz told traffic controllers. “I believe you’re outside the fence if you see him.”

It wasn’t until eight minutes later, when Crooks showed up at the AGR building, where he would eventually climb over to fire his shots, that he was found again.

Officers were unable to determine his location from their vantage point. He was last seen walking toward the Sheetz gas station and this information was quickly disseminated.

“All units need to be notified that this individual is en route to Sheetz,” a deputy told his colleagues at 6:04 p.m.

However, Crooks did not stay on the ground and instead used an HVAC unit to scale the roof of the AGR building, as seen in video footage obtained by the FBI.

As officers rushed to the street, Crooks was already in position to take aim.

“There’s someone on the roof,” a local officer said four minutes later. “I’ve got someone on the roof wearing white shorts.”

After it was confirmed that there were no officers on the roof, the chase intensified.

“We got him,” an officer said. “We don’t have him in custody yet, but he’s right in front of me, by the pine tree that’s up. He had a backpack on him.”

However, a few seconds later he was out of sight again and was only noticed again by people in the crowd.

Video footage shows officers struggling to find Crooks, likely due to the angle the suspect was in.

A local officer was then called up and at 6:11 p.m. was able to confirm that Crooks was carrying a deadly weapon.

“He’s armed,” the officer said, according to the transcript. “I saw him, he’s down. He’s got a long gun.”

According to reports, the local officer was unable to draw his weapon because his hands were on the roof.

Lenz is then heard telling the Butler County task force to go to the AGR building. But before he can finish the assignment, he is heard saying, “Shots have been fired.”

A source told The Washington Post that the report of an armed threat never reached the Secret Service command post because there was no time to make a call.

This is thought to explain why the Secret Service agents closest to Trump seemed so surprised.

The transcript will undoubtedly cause further headaches for those involved in security on the day, particularly the Secret Service, which has already come under heavy fire for its failings.

The controversy has already led to the firing of former director Kimberly Cheatle.

The security chief has faced mounting questions about why there was no officer on the roof from which Crooks opened fire on the former president, and why Trump was allowed to take the stage even when a threat was detected.