Bodycam footage released Thursday reveals the intense moments before the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The footage, captured by two Butler Township Police Department officers, shows their efforts to stop the would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was positioned on the rooftop of the American Glass Research (AGR) building with an AR-15-style rifle.
An officer with a body camera is seen being hoisted onto the roof, immediately ducking, and sprinting to his car to retrieve a more powerful weapon.
“F*ck, this close, bro. Dude, he turned around on me,” the officer said, recounting his encounter with the shooter, who reportedly pointed the weapon at him before he ducked.
“I pulled my head right in front of him, bro. He’s got a boot bag, he’s got mad s*it, an AR laying down. He’s laying down, he’s got a boot bag next to him,” the officer relayed to his colleagues.
The footage then shows the officer being lifted back onto the rooftop, where he joins three other law enforcement officers. The video concludes with the officers standing over Crooks’ body after counter-snipers fatally shot him.
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