Northeast
Pennsylvania officer at Trump assassination attempt says he needs 'empire' amid Secret Service staffing woes
Bodycam footage from the Butler Township, Pennsylvania, Police Department obtained by Fox News Digital on Thursday through a records request shows a single officer’s efforts to help people after the Trump assassination attempt on July 13.
“This is way above my pay grade. Whoever you have coming, I need an empire,” the officer can be heard saying around the 3:40 mark in the footage captured just seven minutes after gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks began shooting from the roof of the American Glass Research (AGR) building directly outside the rally perimeter.
The officer can also be heard saying, “We have been told that somebody was looking out a window. I do not know who was inside,” possibly referring to the interior of the AGR building.
Other bodycam footage released Thursday reveals confusion among officers from different agencies regarding why there was no law enforcement presence on the AGR roof and how Crooks went unnoticed.
TRUMP SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
Law enforcement responds to the roof of the AGR building in Butler, Pennsylvania, after a July 13 assassination attempt against former President Trump. (Butler Twp. Police Dept.)
There was also confusion about whether Crooks had been neutralized or if there was still an active threat minutes after the shooting.
Two Butler police officers who were originally assigned to traffic duty went to the AGR building just seconds before the gunfire in an attempt to get a better look at the roof after hearing reports of a person possibly on top of the building. In a bodycam video, one officer can be seen boosting another onto the roof to try and get a better look at Crooks.
TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM NEWLY RELEASED BODYCAM
Thomas Knights, Butler Township manager, previously told Fox News Digital in an interview that the officer looking onto the roof saw Crooks point his rifle at him, at which point he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
“Once the suspicious individual report came out, and our police arrived in the immediate area of the building, they did do a perimeter search — were unable to see the person on top of the building from the vantage point,” Knights explained at the time. “So one of our other police officers… literally boosted one of our [other officers] up high enough in the air to grab hold of the edge of the roof.”
TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: TEXTS REVEAL OFFICERS WERE AWARE OF THOMAS CROOKS 90 MINUTES BEFORE SHOOTING
The officer was able to pull himself up so that his “head was above the roof” because there was no other way to access the roof at that moment. The approximate distance from the ground to the edge of the roof where the officer got hold is 12 feet, Knights said.
Buildings adjacent to the Butler Farm Show, site of a campaign rally for former President Trump, are seen July 15 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Thomas Matthew Crooks fired from the roof of the building complex and wounded Trump on July 13 during an assassination attempt. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
The officer “did observe an individual on the roof,” who “was identified as having a weapon” and “did point that firearm at our officer,” Knights said.
The officer took a defensive position from where he was hanging on the edge of the roof, ducked his head, and lost his grip, at which point he fell “approximately eight feet” to the ground and sprained his ankle, the township manager explained.
In additional video released Thursday, a police officer can be heard saying he “told” the Secret Service to have officers on the roof of the building.
“I told them that f—ing Tuesday. I told them to f—ing post guys over here.”
“I f—ing told them they need to post the f—ing guys over here… the Secret Service,” the officer says.
“I thought you guys were on the roof,” another police officer can be heard saying.
“No, we were inside,” the first officer says.
The Secret Service responded to the footage in a Thursday evening statement, saying it is aware of the videos from local police.
“The U.S. Secret Service appreciates our local law enforcement partners, who acted courageously as they worked to locate the shooter that day. The attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was a U.S. Secret Service failure, and we are reviewing and updating our protective policies and procedures in order to ensure a tragedy like this never occurs again,” it said.
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GREENE TWP., Pa. (WKBN) – A 17-year-old Greenville boy on a minibike was killed in a crash over the weekend in Mercer County.
The crash happened around 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
A family member identified the victim as Ethan Guthrie, who attended Reynolds High School.
A Pennsylvania State Police report states that the teenager was driving a minibike traveling westbound on state Route 58 in the eastbound lane. A 2003 Lincoln Town Car driven by a 23-year-old man from Jamestown was traveling east in the eastbound lane.
The report states that the Town Car swerved to the right to avoid a head-on crash, while the minibike swerved to the left and hit the front end of the Town Car.
Guthrie, who was wearing a helmet, was transported to UPMC Greenville but died from his injuries.
Pennsylvania State Police were investigating the crash.
Hanna Erdmann and Kristen Hephner contributed to this report.
Rhode Island State Police said Tuesday that a dump truck that was left in the up position struck a bridge over Route 146 in Lincoln.
The crash happened at about 11 p.m. Monday at Breakneck Hill Road.
State police said their preliminary investigation showed the truck dumped a load of material south of Breakneck Hill Road, headed north with the dump body in the “full up” position and struck the overpass.
The driver complained of pain, but no other injuries were reported.
State police said Route 146 was shut down at 11:09 p.m. and re-opened at 2:10 a.m. after the truck was removed and Department of Transportation inspectors cleared the bridge. Traffic was detoured during the closure.
State police said they towed away the truck for inspection.
They said the truck is owned by A. Furtado’s Paving in East Providence, a private company sub-contracted by DOT. It was part of a paving project on Route 146.
Rabies is significantly on the rise among wild animals in Vermont, according to Vermont health officials. In response, the state and federal government are ramping up joint efforts to vaccinate wildlife against the disease.
Officials plan to put over 900,000 doses in bait they’ll distribute across 10 counties in Vermont. Workers in early May will drop the bait from low-flying aircraft in rural areas, and place it by hand in more densely-populated places.
Little blister packs covered in a waxy green coating will hold the vaccine. They’re scented to attract raccoons and skunks.
If you encounter these blister packs while you’re out, it’s important to leave them alone so wild animals can find them, said Vermont public health veterinarian Natalie Kwit.
“The way it works is they pick them up, they bite into it. It’s kind of like a pressurized liquid packet, and it bursts in their mouth, and then they swallow it, and it gets them vaccinated,” she said.
If your pet accidentally eats one of these blister packs, Kwit said they should be fine. But the health department wants you to call anyway to let them know.
Rabies is a deadly virus that attacks the brain and nervous system. Infected animals spread the disease through their saliva. In Vermont, it is most often found in raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats.
There were 66 rabid animals reported in both 2024 and 2025, more than double the previous annual average in Vermont. So far this year, 16 animals have been found to be rabid. While counties across northern Vermont have been affected, the greatest number of recent cases have been in Orleans County.
The vaccine bait drop is a joint project between the state and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has been running the program across the eastern seaboard since the 1990s.
Officials also plan to conduct the regular, annual statewide bait drop in August. This year is the fourth consecutive year that Vermont has scheduled an extra bait drop in response to rising cases.
Rabies cases are up nationally, although officials say they’re still trying to understand why.
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