Trump rally video affirms Secret Service ‘failure’ after figure seen on roof before shooting: acting director
Acting Secret Service director said that video of what appeared to be Thomas Crooks moving on the roof prior to the Trump rally was a "failure" of the agency.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said that video of someone moving along a roof minutes before former President Trump was shot confirms a "failure."
In an exclusive Fox News Digital video, taken by Jim Copenhaver, one of the victims critically wounded in the July 13 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, a figure is seen moving across the roof of the American Glass Research (AGR) building just minutes before gunfire rang out at Trump's rally.
"Looking at this, it even just affirms to me that this was a failure," Rowe told reporters on Friday. "We should have had better protection, for the protectee we should have had better coverage on that roofline.
"We should have had at least some other set of eyes from the Secret Service point of view, covering that. That building was very close to that outer perimeter. And we should have had more of a presence."
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In the video taken at 6:08 p.m. on July 13, the person appears on the roof of the building adjacent to where Trump is speaking and can be seen walking from the 1:00 second mark to about the 2:50 second mark.
Officials believe Thomas Crooks began shooting with a collapsible AR-15-style rifle three minutes later, around 6:11 p.m. The 20-year-old unleashed eight shots towards the audience – targeting the former president.
Counter snipers fatally shot Crooks shortly afterward, and law enforcement officials found eight shell casings near his body.
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The exclusive footage appears to show Crooks on the AGR rooftop before the shooting. Other videos from rally attendees have shown bystanders pointing out Crooks on the roof and capturing the response from law enforcement officers who were trying to find him.
One user on X, @realDJStew724, captured local law enforcement with guns drawn surrounding the building where Trump's would-be assassin was crouched down a full two minutes before Crooks shot the former president.
The footage was captured at the base of the AGR building where Trump supporters were gathered to listen in on the rally on the outside perimeter.
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Trump can be heard taking the stage and beginning to speak as law enforcement began to encircle the AGR building where Crooks was positioned with an AR-15-style rifle.
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"Oh my God, there is someone in this building," said Dave, the X user.
"There’s f---ing cops surrounding this whole entire f---ing building right now," another woman is heard saying.
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In the following two minutes of Dave's footage, the shooting unfolds with witnesses near the AGR building encouraging others to "make themselves small."
"Make yourself small, bro," Dave is heard saying. "I don't know what is going on."
"Get down, get behind this tree," another said. "I saw this big puff of hair."
After a final shot rang out, Dave is heard asking somebody, "Did they pick him off?"
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Following the chaotic moments leading up to Crooks' shooting and the immediate minutes following, additional law enforcement officers were seen scurrying around the AGR building.
"He said kill confirmed," David is heard after officers were heard talking about snipers shooting Crooks. "He said kill confirmed.'
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The witness account of the shooting sheds light on what local law enforcement officers were doing directly before the shooting that injured three, including Trump, and killed Corey Comperatore, a firefighter who died shielding his family.
The security failures of the Secret Service have prompted congressional hearings focused on investigating how Crooks managed to climb on top of the AGR building undetected and nearly assassinate a former president.
Fox News' Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.