CNN
—
A recently surfaced video shows Thomas Crooks leisurely strolling through the rally grounds in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 about 90 minutes before he opened fire on former President Donald Trump, the clearest image yet of the would-be assassin that day.
Video taken at 4:26 p.m. by Joe Tomko, a vendor, shows Crooks and other rally attendees walking past booths selling Trump memorabilia located across the American Glass Research complex. Crooks eventually fired eight shots at Trump from the roof of one of the complex’s buildings, killing one bystander and wounding two others.
Tomko’s video appears to be the earliest known footage of Crooks on the day of the rally. Few images have surfaced showing Crooks at the rally site, and those released are grainy and shot from a distance.
In the new video, Crooks is clearly visible. He is wearing a gray T-shirt and shorts. He does not act suspiciously and appears to be unarmed. He is walking toward the AGR complex. Tomko recorded the video less than an hour before police first photographed Crooks – approximately 550 meters northwest of where Tomko was standing, based on CNN geolocation and a metadata review.
A local SWAT officer stationed at an AGR building next to the building from which Crooks fired noticed Crooks sitting under the window where the officer had positioned his rifle at 5:14 p.m. In an interview with CNN, Beaver County sniper Greg Nicol said something was off with Crooks, prompting him to take a photo.
Just over 15 minutes later, Nicol saw Crooks point a rangefinder at the stage where Trump would speak. This sparked a frantic, 39-minute search for Crooks that revealed a dramatic breakdown in communications between law enforcement agencies and led to what is widely considered the worst Secret Service failure in decades.
Tomko, who told CNN he was selling patriotic hats at the event, said he was watching his footage from the rally a week later when he first noticed Crooks in one of the videos. “I couldn’t believe it,” Tomko said. “I knew immediately that the video had to be turned over to the FBI first.”
Two days later, Tomko showed the video to the FBI and was subsequently questioned by federal agents, he said.
Tomko also posted the video – which shows the clearest image yet of Crooks on the day of the rally – on social media.
The FBI declined to comment on Tomko’s video.
