A report claims that three snipers were positioned inside the building that would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks used to fire at former President Donald Trump during his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
CBS News reported that three “counter-snipers” from Beaver County, Pennsylvania, were positioned inside the building “looking out windows toward the Trump rally” as part of the security for the Trump rally.
BeaverCountain.com, a local news outlet, cited law enforcement officials from three counties who were responsible for securing the area around the Secret Service perimeter at Saturday’s rally. The outlet reported that officials claimed they did not have the proper staffing or preparation to secure the area and that no security was deployed on the roof of the warehouse building.
CBS News noted that one of the snipers reportedly saw the suspect looking at the warehouse building’s roof and that the suspect came a second time, sat down, and started looking at his phone. The suspect left before coming back toward the building a third time. Equipped with a backpack, the suspect then started walking toward the back of the warehouse building.
According to The Daily Wire, while it is not yet clear how the suspect was able to get on top of the roof, officers have indicated that he could have used an air conditioning unit to help him climb up the side of the building. The outlet also reported that while law enforcement officers called for backup once the suspect was on the roof, it was too late to neutralize the suspect before he could shoot at the former president.
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Olivia Rinaldi, a CBS News reporter, shared the news on Monday of the snipers located in the warehouse building, tweeting, “Stunning new details from CBS News on how secret service snipers noticed the shooter before the Trump rally in Butler, PA on Saturday. There were three snipers stationed INSIDE the building the shooter was on, according to a local law enforcement officer with direct knowledge.”
Rinaldi explained that one of the snipers took a picture of Crooks after he was spotted looking at the building, disappearing, and then later coming back and sitting down near the building. She added, “At that point one of the snipers took a picture of him.”
The CBS reporter said that one of the snipers contacted the command post after Crooks “took out a range finder.” After the suspect returned a third time with a backpack, the snipers reportedly notified the command post that the suspect was equipped with a backpack and had been seen walking toward the back of the warehouse building.
