Officers Alerted Tactical Channel About ‘Suspicious Male’ Before Trump Shooting

The manager of the Pennsylvania township said officers who were on traffic duty ‘broke free’ to respond.

The stage where former President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pa., on July 14, 2024. Brendan McDermid/Reuters

The manager of the Pennsylvania township that hosted a campaign rally where a gunman fired shots at former President Donald Trump on July 13 said that local officers radioed a call on a tactical channel about a “suspicious male” near the warehouse where he ultimately perched.

In a statement released on July 17, Butler Township Manager Tom Knights said that after the former president arrived, “a call went out for a suspicious male near the AGR building,” referring to the warehouse that was used by Thomas Matthew Crooks.