The man who shot former President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania on July 13 had a detonation device, the state’s top police official said on July 23.
“We were aware of that very early on and that was a serious tactical consideration in the immediate aftermath as we worked that crime scene,” Col. Christopher Paris, commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police, told a U.S. House of Representatives hearing in Washington.
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) had asked Col. Paris for confirmation that Thomas Crooks, the 20-year-old shooter, had a detonation device and bombs in his car, which was parked near the rally.
“Seems to me, a good theory would be that he was going to kill the president and then detonate his car, causing a diversion, and then escape from the crime scene,” Mr. McCaul said.
After Mr. Crooks fired shots at former President Trump, he was killed by a Secret Service sniper, according to officials.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, who announced her resignation earlier on Tuesday, told lawmakers this week that she would not say how many casings were recovered from around the shooter.
Col. Paris told the hearing that he believed eight casings were recovered.
Mr. Crooks climbed on top of a building near the Butler County rally and fired from the roof, authorities say. Former President Trump and two others were wounded, while a fourth individual was killed.
Mr. McCaul, one of the lawmakers who recently visited the roof, said that the shooter had a “clear, eyes on, clear shot of the president” and that the roof was the best position outside of the security perimeter from which to shoot the former president, as far as he could tell.
Mr. Crooks “should never have been allowed to get on top of that building,” he said.
Patrick Yoes, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, told lawmakers that he believes the roof and other nearby elevated positions should have been included in the security perimeter.
Ms. Cheatle told lawmakers that the roof’s slope prompted safety concerns, resulting in placing no Secret Service personnel there.
Col. Paris, asked about that decision, said he did not agree with it.
In his prepared opening remarks, Col. Paris said the Pennsylvania State Police is conducting a joint investigation into the rally shooting with the FBI. He said investigators have carried out more than 100 interviews and gathered more than 1,000 pieces of evidence.
The Secret Service is conducting a separate probe that is attempting to assess what went wrong. That investigation is slated to take 60 days, Ms. Cheatle said.
She largely declined to discuss specifics of what investigators have determined so far, citing the ongoing probe.
Officer Spots Crooks Moments Before Shooting
Col. Paris later said that just moments went by after a local officer locked eyes with Mr. Crooks before the shooter opened fire.“It was a matter of seconds,” Col. Paris.
Earlier in the hearing, he said it was no more than three minutes between the time the officer saw Mr. Crooks and bullets started flying.
The local officer and a partner had heard about a suspicious person being around the building and went looking for the person. They eventually found out the man was on the roof. One officer hoisted the other up. The officer being hoisted, gripping the ledge, spotted Mr. Crooks. The shooter turned his weapon and aimed it at the officer, prompting the officer to release his grip and drop to the ground, according to Col. Paris.
The officer “was not in a position ... to draw a weapon,” Col. Paris said.
Michael Slupe, the sheriff of Butler County, previously said that the officer was unable to use his weapon and thus released his hold on the roof.
