On Thursday, the U.S. Secret Service and FBI responded to a video recorded by James Copenhaver. Copenhaver, one of the victims wounded in the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Trump, captured a figure moving across the roof where gunman Thomas Crooks was positioned.
The video, shared exclusively with Fox News Digital, was taken at 6:08 p.m. on July 13. Minutes later, at 6:11 p.m., Crooks fired at least eight gunshots before counter-snipers neutralised him.
New York Times does detailed analysis of bullet trajectories, video, photos, and audio of shooting at Trump rally. They conclude Trump was most likely grazed by the first of eight bullets fired by the gunman, and not shrapnel or something else. pic.twitter.com/wTg87GXylc
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) July 26, 2024
In a statement to Fox News, the Secret Service expressed their commitment to understanding the events surrounding the assassination attempt to prevent future incidents, cooperating fully with Congress, the FBI, and other relevant investigations.
The FBI acknowledged awareness of the video but refrained from further comment.
During his attempt to assassinate the former president, Crooks killed 50-year-old Corey Comperatore, a father and volunteer fire chief. He also critically wounded 74-year-old James Copenhaver and 57-year-old David Dutch. Trump, who turned his head at the last moment to look at a projection screen, was grazed by a bullet on his ear but was otherwise unharmed and quickly evacuated.
Authorities have been reconstructing the timeline of events from that evening to understand how Crooks executed the assassination attempt.
Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office released text messages obtained via a public records request. The messages indicated that law enforcement noticed a suspicious person near the rally site about 90 minutes before the shooting and took photos of Crooks at approximately 4:36 p.m.
On Monday, during a press call, FBI officials detailed how Crooks accessed the roof of the AGR building by climbing HVAC equipment and piping. He moved across multiple rooftops before positioning himself on top of the AGR building with a direct line of sight to Trump.
Leading up to the incident, on July 6, Crooks from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, researched the distance from which Lee Harvey Oswald shot President John F. Kennedy in 1963. On July 7, he visited the rally site and spent about 20 minutes exploring the area, according to Kevin Rojek, special agent in charge at the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office.
On the day of the rally, Crooks parked his vehicle and flew a drone between 3:50 p.m. and 4 p.m., about 200 yards from where Trump would be speaking. FBI Director Christopher Wray testified during a July 17 congressional hearing that Crooks had been at the rally site for around 70 minutes on the morning of the assassination attempt.
