Thomas Matthew Crooks, who tried to assassinate Donald Trump, was caught on a chilling video lurking near the stage of the former president's rally in a massive Secret Service security failure just an hour before he fired multiple shots.
The chilling and disturbing footage, recorded by someone in the crowd, appears to show the 20-year-old gunman moving around a building he would climb 60 minutes later to find the ideal vantage point to target Trump. In the distressing clip, obtained by local station WTAE, Crooks does not appear to be holding the AR-style rifle he used to shoot Trump through the ear at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
Chilling Footage of Would-be-Assassin
The cameraman said that he was initially trying to capture the large crowd waiting to hear the Republican nominee speak but later realized that he had inadvertently captured a more alarming detail in the background.
The footage was released amid a series of shocking developments on Wednesday, raising further questions about the massive security failure that led to the attempt on Trump's life and resulted in the death of a local firefighter, who died while protecting his family from the gunfire.
On Wednesday, it emerged that the gunman's father called the police on the day of the shooting because Crooks didn't return from what he thought was a routine Saturday trip to the local gun range.
It was also revealed that Crooks was at the former president's rally three hours before opening fire, even raising the suspicions of the Secret Service at that time because he was carrying a rangefinder used by hunters for long-distance shots.
However, he was never stopped or questioned.
Later, Crooks climbed onto the roof of the building he had been lurking near, shot Trump, and killed retired volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore.
Crooks had told his boss that he needed Saturday off from work and left his colleagues with a chilling message: that he would be back on Sunday.
Crooks' father told law enforcement that he believed his son had gone to the Clairton Sportsmen's Club to practice shooting with his rifle and expected him to return by 1 p.m. on Saturday, according to CNN.
However, as time passed, his concern grew, and he contacted local authorities.
Around 3 p.m. on Saturday, Crooks was seen at the rally's security screening area trying to pass through metal detectors with a rangefinder, a device used by shooters to measure distance.
Although the rangefinder, resembling a small pair of binoculars, would not have prevented him from entering the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, it did attract the attention of law enforcement.
The Secret Service monitored him but lost track when Crooks left the secure area.
It is believed that he then went to his car to take the rifle he used to shoot Trump, kill a rally attendee, and injure others, along with a bulletproof vest and two explosive devices from his car.
Complete Security Failure
About 40 minutes before the shooting, Crooks was back on the Secret Service's radar. A photograph showing Crooks crawling on the ground while surveying the area was circulated among law enforcement as a suspicious sighting at 5:30 p.m.
At around 6:11 p.m., Crooks positioned himself on a slanted roof and fired at Trump from about 165 yards away, injuring him in the ear and killing retired fire chief Corey Comperatore.
Witnesses saw Crooks climbing onto the roof of the American Glass Research building. A Secret Service counter-sniper team, codenamed "Hawkeye," also saw him using the rangefinder to look at their position.
These latest revelations raise further questions about the Secret Service's handling of the situation, especially after their embattled chief, Kimberly Cheatle, bizarrely said that officials deemed the roof too risky a position to place an agent.
Law enforcement took a photo of Crooks an hour before the shooting, adding to the growing evidence that they were aware of his presence long before he fired the shots.
Just moments before Crooks aimed at Trump, a local police officer confronted him. Crooks pointed the rifle at the officer, who then dropped and fell eight feet down.
Although the bullet only grazed Trump's right ear, Crooks fatally shot firefighter and father Corey Comperatore, who was attending the rally with his wife and daughters.
The 50-year-old father shouted, "Get down!" and used his body to shield his family from the gunfire before being fatally shot, his grieving wife told The New York Post from her Sarver, Pennsylvania home on Monday.
Authorities have not yet disclosed a potential motive for the shooting, which also left two other rally attendees injured.
