Chilling images of how close shooter got to Trump – and what was hidden by the bushes
Extraordinary new photos and video, obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com, show how breathtakingly close the Trump shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, came to his target.
Crooks, 20, came close to killing President Trump on Saturday when the former president addressed supporters at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Chillingly, some of the photos show a ladder leaning against the side of the AGR building, hidden by thick undergrowth. The ladder leads directly to the roof, which witnesses later told police they saw Crooks clambering over.
Since then, the Secret Service has come under intense scrutiny for what has been described as the biggest security failure in decades.
This compelling footage highlights the few feet – barely 135 yards – that stood between the former president and his intended assassin.
Crooks parked his vehicle near the rally site in Butler on Saturday before climbing onto the roof of a nearby industrial manufacturing building.
Bullets fired from the roof of a factory building (right) into the protest (seen left) show how close Crooks came to the former president
Frighteningly, some images show a ladder, hidden by dense undergrowth, placed against the side of the AGR building, leading directly to the roof
Federal agents were seen inspecting the ladder, which would be virtually invisible from the ground.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, seen here in a 2021 photo, was identified by the FBI as the gunman involved in the assassination attempt
From his high vantage point, almost as close to the president as the Secret Service snipers assigned to protect him, Crooks had a clear and unobstructed line of fire and, armed with his father’s AR-15 rifle, he fired the shot.
It wasn’t the snipers’ quick reaction, but a chance turn of Trump’s head that made the difference between a glancing blow and a killing shot.
Yesterday, the debris from the abandoned gathering was clearly visible at the Butler fairgrounds.
Overturned chairs and a field of trash lay stretched beneath a massive American flag strung between two cranes high above the podium where Trump spoke.
Police cars lined the fairgrounds and large stretches of the highway were closed to through traffic as police investigated the scene of the worst attempt to assassinate a president since Ronald Reagan was gunned down in 1981.
Corey Comperatore, a 50-year-old father of two and fire chief, is the person in the audience who died while trying to shield his family from the gunfire that erupted Saturday afternoon.
Two other spectators who were hit, 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver, were both in stable condition on Sunday.
A chance turn of Trump’s head, not the quick reaction of those snipers, was what made the difference between a sneer at the bullet Crooks fired and a fatal shot
A fortuitous turn of Trump’s head, seen here moments after the incident, and not the quick reaction of those snipers, was what made the difference between a grazing shot from Crooks and a fatal one.
Crooks was killed by the USSS seconds after opening fire on the former president and presumptive Republican presidential candidate.
About an hour’s drive from where the protest took place, at Crook’s family home in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, a similar scene unfolds: a neighborhood in lockdown, with police cars and fire trucks blocking the roads. The roads are only accessible to residents within a three-block radius.
Neighbors were asked to leave their homes after explosives and other items were taken from both Crooks’ van and his home.
The alleged assassin was a registered Republican and had graduated from high school in 2022.
Documents show that on Inauguration Day in 2020, Crooks made a donation to a progressive group supporting President Joe Biden.
Photos surfaced Sunday morning of Crooks wearing glasses, braces and a T-shirt with the American flag in a yearbook portrait photo.
Bethel Park police officers talk outside Crooks’ home Monday morning after the shooting last weekend
Bethel Park School District, where Crooks attended school until two years ago, has verified his high school diploma and is cooperating with investigators.
Since then, disturbing anecdotes have emerged from people who knew Crooks from his school days.
Crooks auditioned for the school’s shooting team but was rejected because he was a poor shot, said Frederick Mach, the team’s current captain who was a few years behind Crooks in school.
Jonathan Myers, a member of the team at the time of Crooks’ audition, said there was something ominous about him.
Members of the FBI Evidence Response Team work near the building where Crooks was shot and killed by police
Police cars were lined up along the perimeter of the fairgrounds, while large sections of the highway were closed to through traffic as police investigated the crime scene
Crooks was a nutritional assistant at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where he provided food and care to the elderly and sick who had just been discharged from the hospital.
His employer confirmed on Sunday that he had a clean record and was “doing his job without worry” before trying to kill Trump.
Investigators found no threatening social media comments or ideological views that could explain why he targeted Trump.
Leading Republicans and Democrats have demanded an urgent investigation into the shooting, saying routine checks could have ruled out any threats.
In a scathing statement Saturday night, FBI agent Kevin Rojek said it was “surprising” that Crooks managed to fire so many shots.