A horrifying video was released showing the moment an would-be assassin opened fire on former President Donald Trump from a rooftop during an outdoor rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, before being shot dead by a Secret Service sniper seconds later.
video Photos obtained by TMZ show the shooter.The suspect, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was wearing a gray suit and lying on his stomach when he fired shots at the former president from a rooftop about 130 yards from the rally in Butler, a Pittsburgh suburb.
Law enforcement sources said the gunman fired at least five to seven shots before killing the former president.
According to TMZ, people watching from below could be heard screaming and panicking as they saw Crooks get shot.
According to the media, gunfire began to ring out and people continued screaming as Secret Service snipers could be heard responding with fire.
The focus of the video quickly changes before a blurred gunman is killed by federal agents.
Michael DiFriscia, who filmed the video, told TMZ that he and his wife, Amber, were among about 30 to 40 people watching the rally from outside, when she noticed a gunman climbing onto a nearby building about 130 yards from Trump’s rally stage.
According to the media, Crooks appeared to have climbed to the roof of a building and taken up his final position with a rifle in hand and ready to fire, while people below tried to alert nearby police officers to the situation.
He ended up firing, but was caught in the crossfire almost at the same time.
Police said Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, fired multiple shots, including one that grazed Trump’s ear and one that killed one rally attendee and critically injured another.
Secret Service agents swung into action to rush a bleeding Trump off the stage after he had been hit, and Crooks was shot and killed quickly by a Secret Service sniper, police said.
An AR-type rifle was later recovered.
Bethel Park is a village 40 miles south of where the rally took place. Voter records show Crooks was registered as a Republican.
It’s unclear why Crooks is seeking the Republican presidential nomination.
FBI officials also said it was too early to tell whether the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump was the work of a “lone wolf.”
