Shocking video shows would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks crawling onto a roof at the scene where he shot and killed former President Donald Trump, as bystanders frantically point him out to nearby police officers.
video Share with X The 52-second video shows attendees at the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally growing increasingly frustrated when police ignore their warnings after spotting Crooks, 20, climbing onto the roof of a factory about 400 feet from where Trump was speaking.
“People are pointing,” says the man behind the video camera, as people point and look directly at Crooks, who is clearly visible on the roof.
“Oh, someone’s on the roof, they’re over there,” he says, and others shout, “Here, they’re on the roof!”
The camera zooms in to show Crooks lying on his stomach on the roof, while Trump can be heard speaking in the background.
Several people can be seen looking at the shooter and making comments about him, but officers do not appear to take any action against Crooks and Trump is allowed to continue speaking.
“Officers!” a man can be heard shouting, before a woman rushes in and shouts in a panicked tone, “He’s on the roof!”
Another person then shouts: “He’s getting up now!” and the footage shows Crooks crawling forward on his stomach.
Crooks is fully visible in frame for much of the roughly one-minute video, during which police appear largely unresponsive to the concerns of those in attendance.
The police officers whom the rally attendees called out to are not seen in the video, and it was not immediately clear whether they took any immediate action.
The video was released amid reports that local police officers spotted Crooks moments before he tried to kill former President Donald Trump, but were unable to stop him.
A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that protesters found Crooks on the factory roof and that an officer climbed a ladder to search him.
Officers who had been requested to provide security assistance by the Secret Service encountered Crooks, who pointed an AR-type rifle at them.
As the officers descended the ladder, Officer Crooks quickly took aim and fired approximately eight shots at the former president, grazed his ear, killed one heroic volunteer firefighter in the crowd and seriously wounded two others, sources said.
Shortly after Crooks was shot, Secret Service agents escorted him out.
It was not immediately clear Sunday why Crooks targeted the former president.
As of Sunday, the gunman’s online manifesto and a clear motive were unknown, according to law enforcement sources.
