Newly surfaced video shows earliest known footage of would-be Trump assassin at rally

CNN —

Newly surfaced video shows Thomas Crooks casually walking around the rally grounds in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 about 90 minutes before he opened fire on former President Donald Trump, offering the clearest visual yet of the would-be assassin that day.

The video, taken at 4:26 p.m. by Joe Tomko, a merchandise vendor, shows Crooks and other rally attendees walking by booths selling Trump memorabilia across the field from the American Glass Research complex. Crooks would eventually fire eight shots at Trump from the roof of one of the buildings in the complex, killing one spectator and injuring two others.

Tomko’s video appears to be the earliest known footage of Crooks on the day of the rally. Few images have emerged showing Crooks on the rally grounds and those that have been made public are grainy and taken from a distance.

The new video shows Crooks clearly, wearing a grey T-shirt and shorts. He is not acting suspiciously and appears to be unarmed, walking in the direction of the AGR complex. Tomko took the video less than an hour before law enforcement first photographed Crooks – roughly 600 yards northwest of the spot where Tomko was standing, based on CNN geolocation and a metadata review.

BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA - JULY 13: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage by U.S. Secret Service agents after being grazed by a bullet during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Butler County district attorney Richard Goldinger said the shooter is dead after injuring former U.S. President Donald Trump, killing one audience member and injuring another in the shooting. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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