Scripps News obtained 911 recordings that reveal the frightening moments when attendees of a rally for Donald Trump realized there was a shooter.
“They just tried to kill President Trump,” one caller told a dispatcher while asking for a paramedic for a person who he said passed out after the shooting. “You might want to make a note of that.”
Trump was injured during the assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, along with several of his supporters. Rallygoer Corey Comperatore was killed. The gunman, who was shot and killed by law enforcement at the scene, was identified by authorities as 20-year-old Thomas Crooks.
None of the 15 recordings released Wednesday by Butler County include any indication that a rallygoer called 911 to report seeing the gunman prior to the shooting. Most of the calls depicted witnesses reporting the gunfire to dispatchers who said police were already aware of the incident and were responding.
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Recordings were released after Scripps News went to court to obtain them
Scripps News filed a lawsuit in September to obtain the recordings after the county denied an investigative producer’s Right-To-Know request for the audio. In its denial, the county cited part of the Pennsylvania public records statute that generally allows the government to withhold some 911 calls from disclosure.
The county denied similar requests from other media outlets including NBC News and The Intercept, which also filed lawsuits to unearth the public records. The three outlets argued that state law does allow the release of some 911 recordings if it is in the public interest to do so.
The county settled the lawsuits filed by Scripps News and the other outlets on Wednesday, agreeing to release all of the recordings with redactions to remove the names of the callers and their phone numbers.
Callers seek help and information during shooting aftermath
One of the calls released by the county was from a woman who was trying to locate her husband. She said he was shot and taken by paramedics.
Many of the calls captured the sounds of rallygoers yelling in the aftermath of the shooting.
“Gunshots... Gunshots at the Trump rally,” one woman reported.
“The police are on their way now,” the dispatcher responded.
“You better get over here quick,” the caller concluded.
Several people who were not present at the rally called 911 saying they had heard about the shooting from family members who were there.
“My mother called me, I think there’s a Trump rally going on,” one man told a dispatcher. “She called me saying there’s an active shooter on the grounds there. She called me in a panic.”
A bipartisan Senate panel report released in September found numerous Secret Service failures leading up to the gunfire.
Trump returned to the scene of the shooting in Butler earlier this month for another rally.
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