An unfolding timeline reveals the significant lapses that allowed a 20-year-old man with no military experience to infiltrate a building surrounded by counter-sniper police and nearly assassinate former President Donald Trump in broad daylight.
WPXI ireports that police spotted Thomas Matthew Crooks at least twice—26 minutes before he opened fire on a Pennsylvania rally crowd, injuring Trump and two others, and killing a retired fire chief.
The Beaver County Emergency Services Unit, which had come to the Butler County Trump rally, noticed Crooks on the roof, photographed him, and reported the sighting around 5:45 p.m., according to the outlet.
Despite reportedly standing out conspicuously, Crooks managed to avoid confrontation and secured a rooftop position directly under a local police sniper team stationed inside the building, law enforcement sources told The New York Post.
Sources confirmed that officers were inside the building, but not on the roof during the shooting.
Crooks climbed the building and fired up to eight rounds with an AR-style rifle, grazing Trump’s ear, killing a supporter, and injuring two others, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
A Butler Township police officer managed to climb onto the roof and confronted Crooks, who pointed his rifle at the officer. The Butler County sheriff defended the officer’s inability to stop Crooks, explaining that the cop was still pulling himself up and had to let go when faced with the weapon, the Post reports.
The Secret Service stated that local police were in charge of securing the building, which is on an open campus. Before the rally, the building was listed as a being a “potential vulnerability.”
State police reportedly assigned up to 40 troopers to the inside perimeter but none to the outside buildings. A local police officer reportedly scaled the building shortly before the shooting. but retreated when Crooks aimed a rifle at him.
Meanwhile, Crooks’ family is said to be cooperating with police. His father Matthew Crooks, 53, told CNN he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on,” and needed to “wait until I talk to law enforcement” before making further comment.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi stated that Crooks fired “multiple shots” before agents “neutralized” him.
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[Feature Photo:FILE – Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump reacts following an assassination attempt at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., on Saturday, July 13, 2024. Trump Media surged in the first day of trading, Monday, July 15, following the assassination attempt. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)]
