He was the gunman who assassinated former President Donald Trump was identified as a suspect prior to the shooting because he hung around but never attempted to enter the July 13 campaign, and that suspicion grew when he was later spotted with a range finder, the Pennsylvania State Police commissioner testified Tuesday.
Thomas Crooks, 20Pennsylvania State Police Colonel Christopher Paris told a House Homeland Security Committee hearing that he first became suspicious because he was “walking around and he was different from them because he never went to any point to enter the premises.”
Suspicion grew when Crooks was later seen with a rangefinder, a device that measured the distance from the target.
Paris testified that he was told in his briefings that in addition to Crooks, three other people had been identified as suspects.
Paris said the Butler County Emergency Services Unit (ESU), which was tasked with securing the building where Crooks opened fire, relayed the suspicion and a photo of Crooks to state police, who then forwarded the message to the Secret Service.
Butler County ESU officers spotted Crooks from a second-story window and left their post to search for him, Paris said, adding that he could not provide an exact timeline.
Paris said Crooks was not determined to be a real threat until after he opened fire. The fire hit Trump’s ear, killed one rally participant and injured another.
Paris said one of his area commanders specifically asked the Secret Service about a plan to secure the building during a final security briefing two days before the shooting.
“Several Secret Service agents told us Butler ESU was in charge of this area,” Paris said.
Paris said the Pennsylvania State Police’s role was to support the Secret Service at Trump’s presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Kimberly Cheatle, director of the US Secret Service Three sources told NBC News that he resigned Tuesday after widespread calls from lawmakers for Trump to resign following the assassination attempt.
His resignation comes just a day later lawmakers grilled him in the House Oversight Committee A hearing on whether the Secret Service secured the building where the gunman opened fire and how he gained access to the roof was unclear.
The Pennsylvania State Police provided 32 members, Paris said, adding that their two main jobs were to help transport Trump and secure posts inside the perimeter. He said the Pennsylvania State Police provided two marked vehicles with uniformed troopers to “enforce patrol duties” outside the security perimeter.
The agency is investigating the shooting and has interviewed 100 people and collected 1,000 pieces of evidence in the process, Paris said.