THE gunman who shot at Donald Trump during a rally last week reportedly flew a drone over the grounds just hours before the former president’s speech.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, is said to have operated the drone on a pre-programmed flight path to survey the grounds ahead of Trump’s 6 pm speech in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.
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The flight path of the drone, according to the Wall Street Journal, suggests the drone circled the location multiple times as Crooks studied the landscape and scoped out the event site.
Police also believe that Crooks physically went to the site of the rally early that morning, stayed for about an hour, and then left before using the drone later that day.
Minutes before attempting to assassinate the former president, Crooks was spotted walking near the rally where attendees were being scanned for weapons as they entered, before fading into the crowd, according to law enforcement sources.
Crooks later made his way to a rooftop only about 430 feet away from where the Republican presidential candidate, 78, was speaking.
He reportedly scaled an air conditioning unit reachable from the ground and climbed up to the top of the building located outside the security perimeter.
Once on the rooftop and lying in a prone position, Crooks fired at least six shots toward the former president.
None hit Trump, only grazing him as he later told The New York Post that a small piece of his right ear was torn off by the bullet.
But stray bullets hit and killed one rally-goer, former volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore, and two others who were left critically injured.
Within 26 seconds of the first shot, a Secret Service counter-sniper stationed on a roof near the stage returned fire and immediately killed Crooks, according to law enforcement officials.
Donald Trump Rally Shooting Timeline
Donald Trump was shot at during his Pennsylvania rally on July 13.
1pm: Doors open at the Butler Farm Show grounds where Trump was expected to speak at 5pm.
4:11pm: Sean Parnell gave the opening speech.
4:35pm: David McCormick rallied the crowd.
5:10pm: Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, later identified as the shooter, was first identified as a person of interest.
5:30pm: Crooks was spotted with a rangefinder.
5:30pm: Crowds were still waiting for Trump.
5:52pm: Crooks was spotted on the roof by Secret Service.
6:02pm: Trump takes the stage.
6:09pm: Two sniper teams posted on buildings to the north and south behind the rally stage repositioned and were locked on Crooks.
6:12pm: Gunshots were fired toward the stage as Trump delivered remarks.
6:12pm: Secret Service returns fire, confirming the shooter is dead.
6:12pm: Trump was ushered off stage by Secret Service agents.
6:42pm: Secret Service confirmed Trump is safe.
7:24pm: The shooter and one rally attendee are confirmed dead by law enforcement officials.
8:42pm: Trump confirms he was shot in the ear, sharing a statement on Truth Social.
8:49pm: The Secret Service confirms the shooter and a rally attendee are dead. Two others remain critically injured.
Since the shooting, multiple investigations have been launched into Crooks and how the Secret Service handled the crisis.
Authorities have since searched Crooks’ phone and computer, but have not turned up any significant information about his motives behind the shooting or anything else of substance that would raise any red flags.
Crooks’ most suspicious searches only seem to include both Trump and Biden’s names, information on the Democratic National Convention, and facts about members of the British royal family.
In fact, his final internet searches before his death were reportedly for pornography, according to The Daily Beast.
Adding to the confusion for investigators, Crooks was reportedly a registered Republican and former Trump supporter.
Neighbors also reported describing Crooks as a staunch conservative, seeing pro-Trump signs in the family’s yard as recently as several months ago, according to local ABC affiliate WTAE-TV.
For at least 20 minutes before the shooter opened fire, Secret Service agents were aware of Crooks’ presence on the rooftop, law enforcement officials confirmed to ABC.
Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service, has been subpoenaed to testify before Congress regarding the security measures and failures from that day.
However, some legal experts have pointed out that the Secret Service was limited to operating within the restraints of Pennsylvania law.
Pennsylvania is an open-carry state, meaning residents are allowed to be in public and openly display their firearms legally, including AR-style weapons, according to state law and the National Rifle Association.
And since the rooftop was technically outside of the Secret Service’s hard perimeter, agents were not authorized to open fire on Crooks until it was certain he was a threat.
Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe, whose department interrupted Crooks on the rooftop right before he opened fire, told The New York Post he was enlisted by the Secret Service to help at the time after Crooks was spotted.
And Cheatle defends her agency’s handling of the situation, saying it was a “difficult” situation.
“Seeking that person out, finding them, identifying them, and eventually neutralizing them took place in a very short period of time,” Cheatle said during an interview with ABC.
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