Thomas Crooks Was ‘Not’ The Only ‘Suspicious’ Person At Rally

Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris spoke to the House Committee on Homeland Security, revealing that Thomas Matthew Crooks was not the only “suspicious” person at the Donald Trump rally that day.

As per The Blast’s previous report, shortly after Trump started his speech, several gunshots were heard, causing Secret Service agents to quickly intervene, protecting the 78-year-old and taking cover behind the podium. While being escorted to safety, blood was seen on his right ear. One person was killed, and two others were critically injured following the firing of multiple shots.

As the investigation into Thomas Matthew Crooks continues, the police commissioner disclosed additional “suspicious” attendees were at the event.

Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris addressed the House Committee on Homeland Security, revealing that Crooks was not the only individual under surveillance by security that day.

“Was [Crooks] the only one determined to be suspicious that day?” Rep. Andrew Garbarino asked.

“No, he was not,” Paris responded. “They identified Crooks for not matriculating. Crooks never made it through the secure perimeter into the venue space itself.”

In addition to Crooks, two other individuals were flagged as “suspicious” and monitored by law enforcement throughout the day, according to BPR. When Crooks was seen holding a rangefinder, he was quickly designated as a “special individual” and deemed “even more suspicious.”

“There was a text thread that was going,” Paris explained while addressing the House Committee on Homeland Security. “They took a photo of him at some point when he utilized the rangefinder. The suspicion was heightened… I know from an interview that was immediately relayed in the command post to the Secret Service.”

Ten minutes later, Crooks was spotted on a rooftop across from Trump, leading to an officer being assigned to watch the area. However, a whistleblower has claimed that the officer abandoned their post because of the heat.

“Before [Trump] went on to speak… just to be clear, [Crooks] was determined to be suspicious. There was no information that he possessed a weapon,” Paris said, adding that one of the reasons he was believed to be suspicious was that he “was walking around and not moving into the venue.”

“Just for some context, there were over 100 people that day that necessitated or required medical attention due to the heat, there was a missing six-year-old,” he added.

In the video obtained by ABC, law enforcement officers are shown climbing a ladder to the roof where Crooks was stationed with his AR-style rifle. The footage depicts the gunman’s body next to the assault rifle he used to injure former President Donald Trump and fatally shoot rally attendee Corey Comperatore.

Blood is visible flowing down the sloped roof as officers search for a device near Crooks’ body.

“Beaver County snipers seen him, sent the pictures out. This is him,” a person off-camera is heard saying as Crooks’ body is shown on the roof.

“In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that, I have made the difficult decision to step down as your Director,” she wrote in a letter to Secret Service staff, according to NBC. “The Secret Service’s solemn mission is to protect our nation’s leaders and financial infrastructure. On July 13th, we fell short on that mission.”

“The scrutiny over the last week has been intense and will continue to remain as our operational tempo increases,” she added. “As your Director, I take full responsibility for the security lapse.”