Trump shooter autopsy reveals cause of death after attempted assassination
Local Pennsylvania authorities released a one-page report Thursday outlining how the man who attempted to kill former President Donald Trump died.
Butler County Coroner William Young determined Thomas Crooks, 20, died from a single gunshot wound to the head at 6:25 p.m. on July 13. He ruled the official cause of death a homicide.
A counter-sniper team shot Crooks while on the white roof of the warehouse owned by AGR International near the rally site.
Butler County declined a request from the USA TODAY Network for a full copy of the autopsy results, citing the state’s record law that specifically exempts it. It is unknown whether officials tested Crooks for chemicals or medications as is standard in autopsy examinations.
Congressional oversight committees have been critical of federal officials for slowly releasing information about the shooting. In recent weeks, Sen. Chuck Grassley released a raft of local video and investigative materials publicly.
The autopsy does add one more specific to the timeline of the shooting released this week by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, which showed that local law enforcement had identified Crooks as suspicious shortly after 5 p.m., more than an hour before the shooting.
At around 5:30 p.m., SWAT operators saw him using a range finder and browsing news websites on his phone, then at 5:56 p.m. with a backpack.
Crooks was observed climbing HVAC piping outside the warehouse, and “traversed across multiple rooftops to his ultimate shooting position, leading a local police officer to be boosted onto the roof at 6:11 p.m., where he spotted Crooks and immediately dropped to the ground.
FBI officials say 25 to 30 seconds later, Crooks fired eight rounds at Trump. He was then shot and killed by the Secret Service counter-sniper.
Contributing: Bryce Buyakie, Akron Beacon Journal.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump shooter autopsy reveals cause of death
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