(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Channel 11 news in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania reported Wednesday that a local Butler sniper fired at least one shot at Thomas Matthew Crooks in response to his assassination attempt against presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.
Local reporter Nicole Ford cited Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger as the source of her information, adding that Secret Service snipers are still believed to have fired the kill shot.
LATEST: Local officer fired shot at Trump shooter, Butler DA confirms https://t.co/Qh14v2FmU3
— Nicole Ford (@NicoleFordTV) July 18, 2024
The local officer is reportedly on administrative leave, which is standard protocol.
The local news report comes as federal and law enforcement are seemingly playing the blame game as to who’s responsible for letting Crooks scale a nearby rooftop with impunity.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle reportedly said local police were responsible for securing the rooftop, but Fox News interviewed a Butler Township Commissioner , who pushed back on that claim. The commissioner said local police were limited to traffic control.
“I was so frustrated and quite frankly hit my limit last night when I saw Secret Service saying it was the responsibility of the local police department. That’s absolutely not correct,” he said.
Oooooo…. They are so Busted!!
🚨 The Butler Township Commissioner says the SS Director is Lying that the Building the Shooter was on was the Responsibility was the Local PD
• The local Butler Township Police’s only duties assigned to them were “strictly traffic detail”…
——… pic.twitter.com/LJH7tzvB0K— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) July 17, 2024
Meanwhile, the feds can’t even apparently get their story straight as to how Crooks got up on the nearby rooftop in the first place. The New York Times reported Wednesday that “there were conflicting accounts of how Mr. Crooks got up to the roof.”
“A Secret Service spokesman said Wednesday that he had climbed up to the roof on his own, perhaps by using an air-conditioner. Federal investigators believe that he did not use a ladder even though Mr. Crooks had bought one that morning,” the Times reported.
THEY STILL DON'T KNOW HOW HE EVEN GOT UP ON THE ROOF pic.twitter.com/6tDUOF0foh
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) July 18, 2024
Cheatle is set to testify Monday about the Secret Service’s security failures. After some question about whether she’d agree to testify, Oversight Chairman James Comer subpoenaed her Wednesday—and she responded by agreeing to sit in the hot chair this Monday.
“Director Cheatle has agreed to comply with Chairman Comer’s subpoena and the hearing will take place as scheduled on Monday, July 22,” the Oversight Committee announced Wednesday.
“Americans demand and deserve answers from Director Cheatle about the attempted assassination of President Trump and the Secret Service’s egregious failures.”
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
