County EMS Director Defends Local Response in Wake of Trump Shooting

The director of emergency services where a gunman tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump is defending how officials prepared for the rally, Newsweek has learned.

Steve Bicehouse, director of emergency services in Pennsylvania’s Butler County, said he was roughly 40-45 yards from the stage during Saturday’s rally when gunfire erupted. Some 50 personnel, including firefighters, nurses and medical technicians, were stationed at the site.

“A lot of them were working for free as volunteers, too,” Bicehouse told Newsweek Monday.

Prior to the campaign rally, the most significant threat appeared to be conditions, he said.

“There’s no cover, the heat index was over 90,” Bicehouse explained. “So, we prepared for those heat-related illnesses.”

Bicehouse’s department prepped what he described as a “portable cooling center” at the rally to ensure anyone impacted by the heat could be treated at the scene.

“So that’s what we did,” Bicehouse continued.

The bulk of fire departments in the rural Republican county are staffed by volunteers, including individuals who perform multiple duties. Bicehouse estimated dozens of paramedics, physicians, nurses and emergency medical technicians were working at Saturday’s rally.

“A lot of time people do [one or more jobs],” he said. “They also provide medical services through their communities and additional resources and local EMS.”

Bicehouse said his department had “limited interaction” with Trump’s campaign prior to the event, but acknowledged staffers for the former president provided funding to make sure ambulances at the rally were fully staffed.

“They did provide those resources for us so that they were available,” he said. “The goal was to keep people there and to treat them, send them back out and not send them to the hospital, so that was successfully accomplished for the most part.”

In addition to Trump, three people were wounded during Saturday’s shooting, including one fatally. Corey Comperatore, 50, of Sarver, Pennsylvania, died as he protected his family, while David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, Pennsylvania, and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, were hospitalized in stable condition.

Chaos then ensued as gunshots rang out, Bicehouse recalled.

“From our standpoint, it was all hands on deck,” he said. “I can’t say enough about the character of the medical providers that were there and the firefighters provided in other to make this successful. Without them, there would’ve been a lot more victims.”

Bicehouse said he was treating a rally attendee for heat exhaustion roughly 40-45 yards away from the stage when Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, started firing from a nearby rooftop. Emergency personnel then raced to the front of the dais.

“We were unfortunately pretty close,” he continued.

The county emergency services director praised his colleagues for their response, saying it undoubtedly saved lives at the rally.

“I am extremely proud of the response of these individuals, many of whom are volunteers,” Bicehouse told Newsweek. “They’re not being paid for the job that they do and there were adequate resources on scene to take care of not only the massive amount of attendees that we had and related illnesses, but also to the tragic event.”

Newsweek reached out to the Secret Service for comment late Monday.