Would-be Donald Trump assassin Thomas Matthews Crook was at the rally three hours before the shooting and raised suspicions because he was carrying a rangefinder used by hunters to take long-distance shots.
The 20-year-old gunman told his boss he needed the day off work on Saturday and gave his colleagues one last chilling message: that he would return on Sunday.
At around 3 p.m. Saturday, Crooks was spotted in the security screening area and tried to pass through the magnetometers with the rangefinder used by snipers to measure distance. CNN reported.
The device, which looks like a small pair of binoculars, would not have prevented him from entering the Butler, Pennsylvania, protest, but it did put him on law enforcement’s radar.
It was then that officers on the ground lost track of Crooks, but reports suggest he used the time to retrieve his rifle from his car which contained a bulletproof vest and two explosive devices.
The latest photo shows would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks, 20, wearing a T-shirt bearing the logo of the YouTube channel Demolition Ranch.
About 40 minutes before the shooting, Crooks was back on the Secret Service’s radar.
A photograph showing the 20-year-old sniper apparently crawling on the ground as he roamed the area was circulated to law enforcement as a suspicious sighting at 5:30 p.m.
At about 6:11 p.m., Crooks took up a position on a sloped roof and shot Trump from a distance of about 165 yards, hitting him in the ear and killing retired Fire Chief Corey Comperatore.
Witnesses saw Crooks crawling to the roof of the American Glass Research building.
A Secret Service sniper team, code-named “Hawkeye,” also spotted him by looking at his position through a rangefinder.
The latest explosive developments raised further questions about the massive security failures that led to the attempted assassination of the former president.
Law enforcement took a photograph of Crooks an hour before the shooting, adding to mounting evidence that they knew of his presence long before he pulled the trigger.
Two other recently released images also show a bicycle owned by Crooks that was recovered near the scene, and a remote detonator which was recovered from his body along with his cell phone.
It was later revealed that the detonator was connected to explosives found in his car.
Law enforcement personnel stand over Crooks’ body on the rooftop of America Glass Research, located just a couple hundred yards from where Trump spoke on Saturday.
The backpack placed on this bike is said to have been linked to the attempted murder of Crooks.
The remote detonator is seen next to Thomas Crooks’ mobile phone
The gunman also acted strangely near the metal detectors that attendees were required to pass through before entering the event grounds. Witnesses said Crooks was furiously checking his phone and operating a hunting rangefinder.
He tried to enter through that point but activated the detector and was denied entry, the sources said.
At around 5:30 p.m., a photograph of Crooks was circulated to several Secret Service members after reports were made to security about his suspicious behavior.
The image shows Crooks wearing a T-shirt featuring the logo of the popular YouTube channel Demolition Ranch.
At some point, the officers lost track of Crooks. They then spotted him climbing onto the roof of the American Glass Research building. About seven minutes later, he opened fire on Donald Trump.
Trump took the stage at 6:03 p.m., an hour later than planned. Shots were heard at the scene at approximately 6:11 p.m.
Following the shooting that killed a bystander, investigators were searching for any clues about what might have driven Crooks, a Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, resident, to carry out the shocking attack.
The FBI said it was investigating it as a possible act of domestic terrorism, but the lack of a clear ideological motive on the part of the man shot dead by the Secret Service gave rise to conspiracy theories.
Investigators believe he acted alone and have confirmed there is no social media presence to suggest Crooks’ attack was politically motivated.
Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe told the AP that a local deputy went up to the roof and encountered Crooks, who saw the deputy and turned toward him just before the deputy ran to safety.
Slupe said the officer could not have drawn his own weapon under the circumstances.
There are two sniper teams ready to monitor any threats against Trump.
This 2021 photo provided by the Bethel Park School District shows Thomas Matthew Crooks
The officer backed up the stairs and Crooks quickly fired toward Trump, and that’s when Secret Service snipers shot him, according to two officials who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
WPXI said Multiple sources confirmed Tuesday that Crooks was on the roof with a gun for less than seven minutes before being confronted by a Butler Township police officer.
The offenders used an AR-style rifle, which authorities believe was purchased by his father.
The roof where Crooks lay was less than 150 meters (164 yards) from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a decent marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target.
That’s the distance at which U.S. Army recruits must hit a human-sized silhouette in order to fire the M-16 rifle.
In addition to the explosives in his car, investigators also recovered a bulletproof vest and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, which had been purchased, along with a ladder, on the same day of the shooting.
Another bulletproof vest and a third remote-controlled bomb were later discovered in the home he shared with his parents.
The latest revelation that he also had a transmitter has raised fears that Crooks may have planned to continue his killing spree if he had escaped the roof alive, and may have had an accomplice to help him.
Hours earlier, Crooks had asked his boss for the day off, telling him he had “something to do,” before traveling to Saturday’s demonstration.
The suspected killer told his colleagues at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center that he would see them on Sunday.
But a Secret Service agent at Butler’s rally said he would be the last person Crooks would see as he stared the killer down before shooting him dead, graphic video revealed.
The video shows Crooks staring through the scope of his father’s AR-style weapon and firing toward the protest as onlookers shout from the base of the building.
A second burst of gunfire is instantly heard and Crooks is seen lying dead on the roof as those on the ground gasp in horror.
“The Secret Service doesn’t mess around, man,” one exclaims. “Shit!”
He had climbed into the building’s air conditioning system and onto the roof, where MAGA fans saw him “bear-crawling” along the sloping surface with his rifle, and warned law enforcement of the danger.
“I was like, ‘Why is Trump still talking? Why hasn’t he been taken off the stage?'” one witness told the BBC. “The next thing I knew, five shots rang out.”
Crooks was a nutritional assistant at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where she provided food and care to elderly and post-hospitalized patients.
“We are shocked and saddened to learn of his involvement, as Thomas Matthew Crooks performed his job without concern and his background check was clean,” Trustee Marcie Grimm said in a statement.
A colleague at the centre said Crooks never expressed political views at work and was not a “radical”.
“It’s hard to see everything that’s going on online because he was a very, very good person who did something very bad, and I wish I knew why,” she added.
The alleged killer was a registered Republican and a 2022 high school graduate. Records show he donated on Inauguration Day 2020 to a progressive group backing President Joe Biden.
He graduated from the Community College of Allegheny County in May with an associate of science degree in engineering, according to school officials who said they were “shocked and saddened by the horrific turn of events.”
Crooks’ father, Matthew, was seen Tuesday morning for the first time since the shooting when he opened the door of the family home to FBI agents.
A neighbor of Crooks’ sister, Katie, said her brother helped her move into her nearby apartment three years ago, describing her as a “hardworking” woman who worked as a janitor at a local high school and as a waitress at a restaurant.
Both of Crooks’ parents are behavioral therapists and Crooks’ father said he was baffled by his son’s actions.
The Justice Department, Secret Service and FBI are expected to brief senators on the investigation on Wednesday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday night as the Secret Service faces intense scrutiny over its handling of security at the rally.
