The gunman who tried to kill Donald Trump bought 50 rounds of ammo hours before targeting the former president at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. A senior law enforcement source who spoke to CNN on Monday, said that Thomas Matthew Crooks bought 50 rounds of ammunition from a nearby gun shop just hours before he started shooting at Trump.
Crooks grazed Trump in the ear, killed a volunteer firefighter in the audience, and seriously injured two others. CNN's bombshell report comes as the Secret Service faces increasing scrutiny over how the 20-year-old managed to get within just 130 yards of where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
Had Planned to Fire More
Crooks was positioned on the roof of a manufacturing plant around 130 yards from Trump's rally when he fired eight rounds. Secret Service snipers promptly reacted, shooting back and killing the 20-year-old on the spot.
He was found with an AR-style semi-automatic rifle, which had been purchased by his father, and was wearing a shirt promoting the popular gun YouTube channel, Demolition Ranch.
Crooks, described by former classmates as a loner who was "relentlessly" bullied in high school, was a registered Republican. However, at 17, he made a single donation to the liberal ActBlue political action committee.
As of Sunday, the motive behind Crooks targeting the former president remained unclear.
Law enforcement sources told The New York Post that no manifesto or clear motive from the gunman had been found online as of Sunday.
Disturbing images shared online after the shooting showed a Secret Service sniper standing over Crooks' lifeless body, dressed in an all-gray outfit, with blood streaked across his face and into his long, brown hair.
Several Unanswered Questions
This came as a new video emerged on Monday that shows Trump supporters looking up, pointing, and questioning why Crooks was on the roof. Several witnesses reported that they had alerted law enforcement about a gunman crawling on the building, but no action was taken before he began shooting.
"Look, they're all pointing," says the man behind the camera as it pans from the stage to the roof of an industrial building, where a figure can be seen crawling. "Yeah, someone's on top of the roof – look."
The roof where Crooks positioned himself with his weapon had been marked as a security risk and was inspected by local law enforcement, not the Secret Service.
One bullet grazed the former president's ear, but his campaign stated he is otherwise "fine."
According to his aides and analyses of the bullet's trajectory, a turn of his head to look at the jumbotron displaying immigration statistics may have saved his life.
Former fire chief Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed while shielding his wife and two daughters during the attack. David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74, were critically injured but are now reported to be in 'stable' condition. All three victims are Pennsylvania residents.
A new video angle of the shooter just before he opened fire includes on-screen text stating, "Plenty of time and opportunity to eliminate the threat," as questions arise about the security lapse that permitted the assassination attempt.
"There he is, right there. See him?" the cameraman says, pointing to Crooks lying on his side atop the building.
The chaotic assault on Trump was documented in disturbing video footage, showing the former president being brought down to the ground by Secret Service agents just after gunfire erupted.
Shortly after, Trump stood up and instructed his security team to "wait," then raised his fist and urged the visibly shaken crowd to "fight."
