First responders sit down with widow of firefighter killed at Butler, Pennsylvania Trump rally

One year after gunfire erupted at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania marking what would become the first attempt on the president's life during the balloting cycle members of the Butler County Exigency Services Unit ESU are urgent their silence For the first time those who responded on that harrowing day are sharing their account in part two of Fox Nation's Butler Under Fire The installment gives subscribers a new glimpse into the day that nearly claimed President Donald Trump's life featuring special interviews video footage and audio recordings of the individuals who lived through the traumatic events It will be something that weighs on us forever explained Commander Ed Lenz of the Butler County ESU JOURNALIST WHO REFUSED TO DUCK DURING TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT REFLECTS ON BUTLER RALLY IN NEW BOOKLenz's job was to gather information on the ground and relay it up the chain of command on July His unit worked to secure the event in a joint effort with the U S Secret Provision Observers from that day would later suggest that the Secret Service's lack of direction given to local agencies led to safety failures that allowed -year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks to position himself on a nearby rooftop and open fire at then-candidate Trump striking him in the ear and killing rally attendee Corey Comperatore as he shielded his wife and daughters from bullets In the latest Butler Under Fire episode the Butler County ESU met with Comperatore's widow Helen to answer her questions about that day They deserve to have the truth narrated Lenz noted They gave us permission to do this We have their blessing to be here and they needed to do this That really is the deciding factor We're not doing this for us We're doing this for them Helen yearned to meet with local law enforcement to find out more about that fateful day from their perspective Upon meeting the unit she received hugs from a large number of TRUMP SHOOTING TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW GUNMAN EVADED GUARD For the gang as a whole getting to meet her and her showing aid for the organization means the world to all of us ESU member Michael Murcko disclosed Murcko radioed Lenz about a suspicious person lurking around the AGR building and sighting the stage through a rangefinder a device used to measure distances that day escalating the level of concern Not long after Lenz contacted the state police sergeant whose job was to relay the information to Secret Operation I can tell you that the Secret Operation was absolutely aware Lenz informed Helen They had all the information that we were telling them According to Lenz Crooks caught Butler County ESU Chris Kopas' eye early on The shooter was one of the people that I began to monitor He kept going in and out of eyesight looking up and paying close attention to where our sniper units were located within that building Kopas shared It didn't seem like he had any cares about truly being at a presidential rally Cell phone video captured the gunman walking through the vendor row near the entrance at p m TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AFTERMATH REACTIONS FROM INNER CIRCLE REVEALED IN NEW BOOKAt a Beaver County sniper sent photos of Crooks to local snipers via a group chat Local responders continued to relay urgent information desperate to find Crooks who had slipped from their sight Helen in disbelief that the area wasn't secured called the development the ultimate failure What really gets me is that there was a threat and they Secret Institution let him Trump come out on stage she announced If they had just held him none of this would have ever happened Butler Township Police responded to the matter trying to locate Crooks once he had climbed on top of the roof The way we were positioned inside the building was we were not meant to be seen Every window on the second floor had a screen in it and these windows were fairly narrow at about to inches wide so our field of view was limited Murcko explained We were not able to see the rooftop that Crooks was on Trump took the stage at p m Six minutes later a Butler Township police officer attempted to scale the roof Crooks lying flat was spotted with a rifle before others were alerted to the threat I saw a wave of people running away from the rally Murcko recalled And when I heard one woman specifically scream I knew something was wrong Lenz revealed he received the first radio transmission alerting him that Crooks was armed only seconds before shots were fired He then radioed his quick reaction force to engage CLICK HERE TO JOIN FOX NATIONAt p m Crooks opened fire on the president Trump turning his head to read from a chart showing the number of illegal immigrants entering the country under the Biden administration narrowly escaped death as one of the projectiles grazed his right ear Experts say if he had not moved at the right time it would have been lights out Comperatore was fatally shot Two other attendees David Dutch and James Copenhaver were critically wounded by gunfire Helen declared the Butler ESU did what they were supposed to do that day At the same time she is skeptical of other government for keeping a tight lid on information about Crooks It requirements to be talked about It requirements to be dug into Start asking questions she stated Part two of Butler Under Fire continues with expert input from investigative journalist Ken Silva and Tom Fitton president of the executive accountability non-profit Judicial Watch and others to provide more context about that harrowing day Accounts from Crooks' classmates and footage from congressional hearings regarding the episode are also featured To watch the full episode subscribe to Fox Nation and begin streaming in current times Fox News' Audrey Conklin contributed to this analysis