Newly released 911 calls from the Pennsylvania Trump assassination attempt capture the chaos and fear of the day — with some chilling calls coming through with nothing but the crowd’s screams.
The calls — released by Butler County on Wednesday — started coming in to dispatchers at 6:12 p.m. on July 13, just a minute after the first shot was fired and struck Trump in the ear.
“Gunshots, gunshots at the Trump rally! Better get over here quick!” a woman said, while the dispatcher quickly replied that they were aware of the situation.
Calls came pouring in from there, with rallygoers exclaiming in panic, crying, or voicing their raw fear.
More than four months after a attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, officials have released 911 calls from that day. AP
One redacted call came from the wife of a 74-year-old shooting victim from Moon Township, telling police her husband was shot at the rally, but she does not know what hospital he was transported to. James Copenhaver
“What am I supposed to do?” one desperate caller asked, while another said “I’m scared” before abruptly hanging up.
Behind the callers’ frightened voices the rally crowd could be heard descending into a state of panic and confusion.
“We need assistance now! There’s something going on!” another caller said, before she stopped responding to the dispatcher’s requests for information as the crowd could be heard screaming in the background.
James Copenhaver, a 74-year-old man from Moon Township, was shot and critically wounded at the rally. APThose screams then seemed to turn to cheers — possibly at the moment Trump got back to his feet and pumped a fist at the crowd with blood streaming down his face — but the woman could be heard with fear in her voice asking people around her, “What’s going on?”
Other calls came through with nothing but the sounds of the rally in a tumult as dispatchers repeated “Hello?”
More than one call reported rallygoers who had passed out in the confusion, or from desperate people who had family at the rally.
Everything we know about the Trump assassination attempt
- 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was identified as the shooter who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
- Crooks was shot dead by Secret Service agents.
- The gunman grazed Trump’s ear, killed a 50-year-old retired fire chief, and injured two other rally-goers.
- Investigators detailed Crooks’ search history to lawmakers, revealing that he looked for the dates of Trump’s appearances and the Democratic National Convention.
- Crooks’ search history also revealed a broad interest in high-profile people and celebrities, regardless of their political affiliation, FBI officials reportedly said.
- Trump exclusively recounted surviving the “surreal” assassination attempt with The Post at the rally, remarking, “I’m supposed to be dead.”
- High-profile politicians, including President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, addressed the nation about the shooting, calling it “a heinous, horrible and cowardly act.”
“They just tried to kill President Trump, you may want to make a note of that,” one caller said.
Among the callers was the wife of 74-year-old James Copenhaver, who was seriously wounded when gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, started unloading his rifle into the crowd after grazing Trump.
“Paramedics serviced him. I called Butler Hospital. He’s not there. They told me to call 911,” she said, begging dispatchers to help her find out where her husband had been taken.
Other 911 calls released by Butler County give more insight into the moment gunman Thomas Crooks fired approximately eight times, nicking Trump in the ear, killing Corey Comperatore, and injuring Copenhaver (pictured) and another man named David Dutch. Facebook“Please hurry,” she added after being told to stay on the line. Copenhaver spent weeks in the hospital with wounds to his arm and abdomen but survived the ordeal.
The calls were released following a lawsuit from numerous news outlets and other outlets after Butler County initially refused to make the tapes public, according to NBC News.
The FBI previously said this sighting occurred around 5:10 p.m. on July 13, one hour and one minute before Crooks fired his first bullet at 6:11. via Chuck Grassley's Office
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified during a July 17 congressional hearing that Crooks had been at the rally site for about 70 minutes the morning of the assassination attempt. APIn addition to coming within an inch of killing the former president and striking Copenhaver, Crooks fatally shot 50-year-old rallygoer Corey Comperatore and wounded one other.
Crooks had managed to slip past confused and fractured event security to establish a firing position on a warehouse outside the rally grounds, just 200 yards from Trump’s stage.
He was shot dead by Secret Service snipers within seconds of opening fire.
