A local police counter-sniper team was stationed inside the building where Democrat donor Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed onto the roof and fired at President Trump and rally attendees in Butler, Pennsylvania, law enforcement sources told the New York Post.
The building—AGR International Inc. factory in Butler, Pennsylvania—was being used by local police as a “watch post” for snipers to scan for threats while Trump spoke onstage only 130 yards away, according to sources.
Cops were inside but not on the roof during the shooting, sources said.
Crooks managed to scale the building unchallenged and fired eight shots with an AR-style rifle, grazing Trump’s ear, killing one rally attendee, and critically wounding two others.
This revelation comes as the local outlet WPXI reported that Crooks was seen on the building 26 minutes before he opened fire. A cop from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit even took a photo of the gunman before the shooting.
Breaking Digest previously reported that a local police officer climbed onto the roof and confronted Crooks, but retreated after Crooks pointed his rifle at him, instead of calling for backup or attempting to neutralize the threat.
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A local police counter-sniper team was stationed inside the building where attempted assassin Thomas Crooks climbed on the roof and fired on Donald Trump, law enforcement sources told The…
From the New York Post:
A local police counter-sniper team was stationed inside the building where attempted assassin Thomas Crooks climbed on the roof and fired on Donald Trump, law enforcement sources told The Post.
The building — the AGR International Inc. factory in Butler, Pennsylvania — was being used by local police as a “watch post” for snipers to scan for threats as the former president spoke onstage only 130 yards away, according to sources.
Cops were inside, but not on the roof during the shooting, sources said.
Crooks was able to scale the building unchallenged before firing off eight shots with an AR-style assault rifle, grazing Trump in the ear, killing one Trump supporter and wounding two others.
The revelation comes as local outlet WPXI reported the Crooks was spotted on the building 26 minutes before he opened fire — with one cop from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit even taking a photo of the gunman before the shooting.
Law enforcement sources said it was not clear as of Monday night whether any of the local officers — who were tasked with securing the perimeter outside the Butler County Farm Show grounds — were able to warn Secret Service agents about the gunman.
An officer from the Butler Township Police climbed on a fellow officer’s shoulders to check out the roof of the building moments before the shooting — but backed away after Crooks pointed his rifle at him.
A Butler City police dispatcher told The Post that the Pennsylvania State Police were charged with securing the AGR grounds.
The state police did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.
A variety of local police agencies were tasked with securing the area outside of the Butler Farm Show grounds where Trump spoke — with the Secret Service representative Anthony Gugliemi pointing out that local agencies were responsible for the area where the shooter opened fire.
Law enforcement sources said the building was swept by cops before the event and that the local sniper team used the large manufacturing site as a staging and lookout post — but did not climb on the roof for the event — possibly over concerns that it would interfere with the Secret Service snipers.
