The Second Shooter Theory Gains Momentum

Rush to Judgement

Stephen Bryen | Weapons & Security | July 20, 2024

In my first analysis of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania I pointed out the possibility of a second shooter.  Since my essay was published last Monday, July 15th, more voices have been heard on the possibility of a second shooter.  The FBI and Secret Service insist there was only one shooter and have made no attempt to investigate beyond looking into the background of Thomas Crooks, the 20 year old shooter who was taken out by a Secret Service sniper.

Most noteworthy is the fact that the deceased Mr. Crooks had no social media presence and published no manifestos or other documents indicating any reason why he would carry out such an attack.  Although there is contradictory evidence on whether he was the subject of harassment in high school, most of that is way overblown, as his high school counselor has made clear.  High school counselors, at least the good ones, are very attentive to the needs of their students.  I know that because my youngest daughter is an experienced and caring high school counselor.  In any case, Crooks graduated two years before the shooting happened and was successfully holding down a job and preparing to continue his education.

Crooks home environment is another issue and is mostly being swept under the rug.  Crooks lived at home with his parents, both of whom are licensed social workers.  My eldest daughter also is a licensed and experienced social worker.  Having been an army officer and a specialist in family problems and PTSD, she can spot a person under trauma from ten thousand yards away.  Could the parents not know there was a problem with the younger Crooks?  It isn’t possible for at least two reasons.

The first related to the delivery of bomb making materials to their home, with packages marked Hazardous Materials.  Since Crooks worked during the day, the packages were probably picked up by one of the parents.  Were they curious?  (I would not want something marked Hazardous delivered to my house, and if it was one of my kids who ordered it, I would demand to know what was in the package or box.)

The second has to do with the alleged call by Crook’s father to the police allegedly worrying there was a problem.  This was a kid who apparently went to a gun range fairly regularly, and going on Saturday would not be out of the ordinary.  Maybe they could not reach him by cellphone, although we do not know that.  What problem were they worried about?

Obviously we don’t know enough to render an actual judgement, but something isn’t right here.

A graphic suggesting the location of a second shooter (Twitter)

Crooks allegedly had three encrypted “foreign” accounts, but we don’t know what they were.  One presumes the FBI is trying to figure that out, but right now we cannot explain why anyone, let alone Crooks, would have three encrypted foreign accounts.  Were these accounts hiding money transfers or other incriminating evidence?

But the argument for a second shooter is based on eyewitness accounts that say that the shots came from two separate directions (and we are not talking about the shot or shots fired by the Secret Service snipers).  Many have attempted to account for the shots, and there is video of at least two bullets striking a railing on the edge of the stands on Mr. Trump’s left.  Witnesses say that the angle is wrong for those shots to have come from Crooks’ AR-15. A key candidate for an alternative location is the water tower, which is much further away than Crook’s rooftop location.

We have no report on how many shell casings were found on the roof or how many rounds Crooks actually fired.  His body was found with three bullet clips nearby (presumably fully loaded, though we don’t know).  These clips are presumed to be 30 round clips, which are legal and common in Pennsylvania. (A few states limit ammunition clips to 10 rounds. Crooks reportedly bought 50 rounds of ammunition the morning of the shooting from a gun supply store, but that would not fill up 3 clips plus the clip already in his weapon.)  We have no information if spent bullets were found and collected by the FBI or law enforcement.  Ballistic information could prove to be important in determining if only one weapon was used.

There is audio of the attempted assassination.   Initial analysis says there were 8 shots, plus potentially a ninth which could be the round that killed Crooks.  There is less definitive information that up to 15 rounds were involved, but the audio is somewhat inconclusive and cries out for laboratory analysis.

The water tower could have been a firing point for a second shooter.

The FBI has one of the best forensic laboratories in the world in Quantico, Virginia.  It is state of the art, or even beyond.  Has the evidence been taken there?  Has the chain of custody been properly maintained?

Given the utter sloppiness and cumulative incompetence of the Secret Service and local law enforcement assets in Butler, we don’t know how the aftermath of the shooting was managed, if it was.  For example, there is no evidence that eyewitnesses were systematically interviewed, or even if any of them were queried.  Likewise the area was cleared and no effort was made to ask people to remain for questioning.  Nor is there any evidence of systematic evidence gathering.

The “rush to judgement” to borrow Mark Lane’s famous book title, is incredibly appalling and indicative of a cover up.

Worse still, Mr. Trump’s life is still in danger and there is no reason to expect that someone won’t try to kill him again.