Politics
REPORT: Local Police Officer Nearly Confronted Shooter Just Ahead Of Trump Assassination Attempt
A local police officer nearly confronted Thomas Matthew Crooks just before he opened fire on former President Donald Trump at a rally in Western Pennsylvania on Saturday.
According to a report from the Associated Press, rally goers noticed a man a man climbing on the roof of a building located roughly 130 yards from the Trump podium. Attendees noticed that the man had a gun and attempted to alert law enforcement personnel in the moments leading up to the shooting.
One officer climbed a ladder to the rooftop and encountered Crooks, who pointed his rifle at the officer and forced him to retreat. Crooks then quickly took a frantic shot at former President Trump and was neutralized by U.S. Secret Service snipers within seconds.
BREAKING: TMZ obtains video of shooter on rooftop at Trump Rally pic.twitter.com/Sb4cxVnCgY
— Intel Point Alert (@IntelPointAlert) July 14, 2024
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One of the shots fired by Crooks grazed former President Trump’s ear, while another struck an innocent bystander in the head and killed him. The deceased victim has been identified as Corey Comperatore, a retired firefighter and father of two who died while shielding his family from gunfire.
The AP report seems to confirm statements given by rally goers in the minutes and hours following the assassination attempt. One man told the BBC that he and other attendees spotted the shooter on the roof and attempted to alert law enforcement.
“So we walked up and probably five to seven minutes of Trump speaking, I’m estimating here, I have no idea. But we noticed a guy crawling, bear crawling up the roof of the building beside us, 50 feet away from us. So we’re standing there, we’re pointing at the guy crawling up the roof,” the man said.
“He had a rifle. We could clearly see him with a rifle, absolutely. We’re pointing at him, the police are down there running around on the ground. We’re like, ‘hey man, there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle.’ And the police were like, huh, what? You know, like they didn’t know what was going on,” he continued.
The Secret Service has confirmed that the building Crooks fired from was located outside the security perimeter despite its close proximity to the podium.
Upon searching Crooks’ home, bomb squad units uncovered a number of “suspicious packages,” as well as explosive devices inside the shooter’s car.
It is believed at this point in the investigation that Crooks acted alone and that there is no current threat to the public associated with the attack. The shooter was not on the radar of federal or state law enforcement agencies at the time of the shooting.
President Biden told reporters that he has spoken with former President Trump and intends to address the nation from the Oval Office tonight.
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