How two sniper teams were scouting Trump’s security and both appear trained on building where Thomas Crooks, 20, managed to take aim at Trump
It has emerged that two Secret Service sniper teams were monitoring Trump’s security. Both teams were trained at the building where Thomas Crooks attempted to assassinate the former president during a rally on Saturday night.
Less than two minutes before shots were fired at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the teams appeared to be in position to face the shooter.
Footage showing the two teams of agents, armed with sniper rifles, only firing after Crooks, 20, had already shot the former president, raises questions about Secret Service security.
In the anti-sniper videos and images circulating on social media, the two teams, dressed in black protective gear, appear to have been trained on the American Glass Research building, where Crooks managed to gain access to the roof.
But while they appeared to refine their aim, neither team was able to neutralize the threat until it was too late and Trump himself was hit — despite the Secret Service being alerted to Crooks’ presence by concerned rally attendees.
![How two sniper teams were scouting Trump's security and both appear trained on building where Thomas Crooks, 20, managed to take aim at Trump 2 Another team is located in a southern building](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/How-two-sniper-teams-were-scouting-Trumps-security-and-both.jpg)
Footage has emerged showing two teams of snipers on the roofs of buildings behind Trump at his Saturday night rally in Pennsylvania, where he was nearly assassinated.
![How two sniper teams were scouting Trump's security and both appear trained on building where Thomas Crooks, 20, managed to take aim at Trump 4 1721047620 963 How two sniper teams were scouting Trumps security and both](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1721047620_963_How-two-sniper-teams-were-scouting-Trumps-security-and-both.jpg)
![How two sniper teams were scouting Trump's security and both appear trained on building where Thomas Crooks, 20, managed to take aim at Trump 6 Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was identified by the FBI as the gunman in the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on Saturday night. He was later shot and killed by the Secret Service, but only after firing at least eight shots at the former president](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1721047622_254_How-two-sniper-teams-were-scouting-Trumps-security-and-both.jpg)
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was identified by the FBI as the gunman in the attempted assassination of Donald Trump on Saturday night. He was later shot and killed by the Secret Service, but only after firing at least eight shots at the former president
One minute and 32 seconds before the shots were heard, the moment was captured when two Secret Service sniper teams took up positions on the rooftops behind the former president.
One team was on the south roof and the other on the north roof, facing the shooter.
The footage does not clearly show whether the officers are moving or preparing to shoot.
As Trump delivers his speech, the snipers are still focused on Crooks, until an officer on the north roof lifts his head before shots ring out.
At 6:15 p.m., officers rush the stage to pull Trump to the ground after he is hit. Only then do the snipers take him out.
Witnesses said they saw criminals armed with a rifle climb onto the roof of the building, 400 feet away, where police officers later found an AR-style rifle.
The shooter fired at least eight shots from outside the security zone, an incident that immediately prompted calls for an investigation into the security lapse.
A witness to the killing said he alerted Secret Service agents to a man with a gun on a nearby roof minutes before they opened fire.
The witness, Greg Smith, told DailyMail.com that he saw the suspected gunman climb onto a roof outside the event and was stunned by the lack of action from officers.
“I thought to myself, ‘Why is Trump still talking, why didn’t they take him off the stage?'” he said. “The next thing you know, five shots go off.”
This has raised serious questions about whether the two teams noticed the shooter too late and how Crooks was able to fire at least eight times before being taken down.
![How two sniper teams were scouting Trump's security and both appear trained on building where Thomas Crooks, 20, managed to take aim at Trump 8 1721047625 581 How two sniper teams were scouting Trumps security and both](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1721047625_581_How-two-sniper-teams-were-scouting-Trumps-security-and-both.jpg)
![How two sniper teams were scouting Trump's security and both appear trained on building where Thomas Crooks, 20, managed to take aim at Trump 10 Donald Trump addressed a cheering crowd at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, before he was shot in the ear](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1721047628_783_How-two-sniper-teams-were-scouting-Trumps-security-and-both.jpg)
Donald Trump addressed a cheering crowd at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, before he was shot in the ear
![How two sniper teams were scouting Trump's security and both appear trained on building where Thomas Crooks, 20, managed to take aim at Trump 12 Secret Service swarmed him and led the former president away as he was seen with blood streaming down his face](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1721047631_348_How-two-sniper-teams-were-scouting-Trumps-security-and-both.jpg)
Secret Service swarmed him and led the former president away as he was seen with blood streaming down his face
![How two sniper teams were scouting Trump's security and both appear trained on building where Thomas Crooks, 20, managed to take aim at Trump 14 Trump raised his fist to the crowd and did not appear seriously injured as he walked off the stage on his own, surrounded by Secret Service.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1721047634_951_How-two-sniper-teams-were-scouting-Trumps-security-and-both.jpeg)
Trump emerged from the cover of the suited officers and raised a fist, shouting, “Fight, fight, fight” before being taken to the hospital
Former Secret Service agent Joseph LaSorsa said there would be an “intense review” and “massive realignment” within the agency. “This cannot happen,” he said.
He also explained to DailyMail.com why officers from the under-fire service may not have been able to see the shooter.
“Remember they’re monitoring 360 degrees and you’re monitoring seconds. They might monitor that it was 240 degrees in that case.
“They looked at multiple places and it only took a few seconds for that person to be there. And luckily he was 20 years old and not a very good shot.
‘Luckily for all of us as a country he was only 20.’
According to NBC NewsThe roof where Crooks was staying was identified by the Secret Service as a possible vulnerability in the days leading up to the campaign rally.
The glass building is directly adjacent to the Butler Farm Show, where Trump gave his speech before he was attacked.
A former Secret Service agent told the news station, “Someone should have been on the roof or securing the building so no one could get onto the roof.”
On Sunday, the shooter was identified by the FBI as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania.
Federal campaign finance records have since revealed that the shooter was a registered Republican who had previously made a $15 donation to the liberal political action committee ActBlue on Jan. 20, 2021, the day of Biden’s inauguration.
![How two sniper teams were scouting Trump's security and both appear trained on building where Thomas Crooks, 20, managed to take aim at Trump 16 Crooks auditioned for the school's shooting team but was rejected because he was a poor shot, said Frederick Mach, a current team captain who was a few years behind Crooks in school.](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1721047636_460_How-two-sniper-teams-were-scouting-Trumps-security-and-both.jpeg)
Yearbook images have emerged of Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old gunman who opened fire on former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, a resident confirmed the identity to DailyMail.com
![How two sniper teams were scouting Trump's security and both appear trained on building where Thomas Crooks, 20, managed to take aim at Trump 18 Authorities found explosive materials in Crooks' vehicle and family home. Members of the Bethel Park community where Crooks is believed to have lived with his parents were swarmed by police and the Secret Service early Sunday morning](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1721047639_384_How-two-sniper-teams-were-scouting-Trumps-security-and-both.jpeg)
Authorities found explosive materials in Crooks’ vehicle and family home. Members of the Bethel Park community where Crooks is believed to have lived with his parents were swarmed by police and the Secret Service early Sunday morning
![How two sniper teams were scouting Trump's security and both appear trained on building where Thomas Crooks, 20, managed to take aim at Trump 20 Officers stand guard outside a cordon in Bethel Park as officers search an address registered to Crooks](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/1721047642_930_How-two-sniper-teams-were-scouting-Trumps-security-and-both.jpeg)
Officers stand guard outside a cordon in Bethel Park as officers search an address registered to Crooks
Explosives were found in his car and home after his father, Matthew Crooks, 53, legally purchased the AR-15 his son used to assassinate Trump.
The gunman killed a rally attendee, identified as Corey Comperatore, and seriously wounded two people, including David Dutch, 57, a Navy veteran.
Though his assassination attempt failed, Crooks opened fire on Trump, only grazing his ear.
Footage shows Trump holding his right ear and ducking behind the lectern as his security guards form a wall of bodies around him and the shooter is taken out.
With blood streaming down his face, Trump stood, raised his fist in the air and repeatedly shouted “fight” as he was escorted off the stage by suited Secret Service members.
Crooks, who graduated from high school just two years ago, parked his car near the site of the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, climbed onto the roof of the glass building and took aim at the former president.
According to authorities, police sent bomb squad experts to the scene after receiving multiple reports of suspicious packages near where the gunman had parked his car.
Investigators worked late into the night to ensure the crime scene was secure, including searching Crooks’ home and speaking with his family.
According to reports, the FBI investigation led to the discovery of more bombs in the family’s Bethel Park home.