(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The local newspaper Butler Eagle published an article Wednesday that conflicts with previous reports about how many times failed Trump assassin Thomas Crooks was shot by law enforcement at the July 13 campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Citing Butler County coroner William F. Young III, the Butler Eagle reported that Crooks was only hit with one shot.
“According to Young, the head wounds were the cause of death, and the only gunshot wounds found on both of the deceased,” the Eagle reported, referring to Crooks and one of his victims, deceased firefighter Corey Comperatore.
“It is unclear how many total shots were fired, including by law enforcement.”
Butler Coroner Young didn’t immediately respond to a phone message from Headline USA.
Butler County coroner released its report on Thomas Crooks on Friday pic.twitter.com/q2ZBOZYudo
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) August 5, 2024
The Eagle’s account conflicts with reports that a local law enforcement officer likely first shot Crooks before the Secret Service put another hole in him 10 seconds later. That information came from The Washington Post. Other outlets have also reported that Crooks was hit multiple times by law enforcement.
“The shot from the local officer caused the would-be assassin to temporarily recoil from his perch on a rooftop, according to the two officials and a Washington Post analysis of video evidence,” the Post reported last week.
“Crooks’s retreat coincided with a 10-second pause in shooting, according to audio experts who examined the gunshots, a critical period that ended when the Secret Service countersniper shot and killed him.”
The Post also reported that the local officer who shot at Crooks was assigned to a barn behind and to the north of the rally stage, along with a counterassault and quick-reaction force team from Butler County.
“The officer, who was not a sniper, had left the barn and was outside on the ground nearby when Crooks began firing from the rooftop about 110 yards away,” the Post said.
The Post also interviewed Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger, who confirmed that a member of the county’s Emergency Services Unit—which is similar to a SWAT team—fired a shot at Crooks that prompted a reaction from the gunman.
“I don’t know if the officer actually hit Crooks and don’t believe he fired the neutralizing shot,” Goldinger, who oversees the emergency services unit, told the Post in a text message.
In addition to the Post’s account, anonymous sources have told Blaze Media that Crooks suffered at least three bullet wounds.
“It’s not yet known which sniper’s bullet struck Crooks’ head and killed him,” Blaze reporter Steve Baker reported July 19.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
