Bethel Park residents permitted to re-enter homes after law enforcement evacuates area
BETHEL PARK, Pa. (KDKA) -- Bethel Park residents are being notified that they are allowed to re-enter their homes, according to local law enforcement on the scene, after residents were forced to evacuate the area as agencies swarmed the home connected to the shooter in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump.
The FBI has, at least for now, left the scene on Milford Drive. CBS News Congressional Correspondent Scott MacFarlane posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the FBI "has searched the shooter's home and vehicle to collect additional evidence."
NEW from FBI:
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) July 15, 2024
"The FBI has searched the shooter’s home and vehicle to collect additional evidence. Suspicious devices found at both locations have been rendered safe by bomb technicians and are being evaluated at the FBI Laboratory"
Lights remained on, and two SUVs were parked at the one-story home where the shooter, Thomas Crooks, and his parents lived, according to KDKA-TV's Ricky Sayer.
Outdoor lights at the home remain on. Two SUVs are sitting in the driveway.
— Ricky Sayer (@RickyReports) July 15, 2024
Police also tell us neighbors are being notified they can return to their homes. pic.twitter.com/gCz1XfHzZR
As of 10 p.m. Sunday, local law enforcement had significantly reduced their perimeter around the home.
Neighbors KDKA-TV spoke with say this underscores what they see as a reoccurring problem.
"If you want to be put on the map, you want to be put on for good things, for heroes," said resident Stanley Priselac.
Priselac says Bethel Park will now always be thought of as the home of the man who tried to kill former President Trump.
"You don't want to be remembered for that," he added.
However, Stanley and his wife Mary Ellen say this neighborhood has already changed in the same way many other neighborhoods have.
"You know, we used to go to parties and find things in common with each other. Now, we go to parties and we're divisive. We start fights," Mary Ellen Priselac said.
KDKA-TV watched with them as President Biden addressed those concerns from the Oval Office Sunday night.
President Biden said that the temperature in political discourse should decrease.
"I agree with what he said," Stanley Priselac added after watching President Biden's remarks. "You can disagree with somebody without going to war with them. You don't have to agree with everything a person says. That's the whole idea of politics."
Priselac said that it is important to listen to and work with people who have different beliefs than you, believing it will lead to less violence, while also saying Biden's speech will lead to a softer tone in our political discourse.
Part of Milford Drive will remain closed indefinitely except for residents who live on the street.