The Secret Service identified the rooftop next to Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania event as a security vulnerability days before the rally according to a new report by NBC News.
The agents failed to secure the building so a man with a rifle was able to climb up to the roof, position his scope, and fire several shots at President Trump.
A bullet grazed Trump’s right ear. Two rally attendees were wounded. One Trump supporter was fatally shot.
President Trump told former White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson that a last millisecond head tilt saved his life after a gunman opened fire on him from an elevated position at his Pennsylvania rally.
Trump told Dr. Ronny Jackson that he turned his head to the right to look at a chart on illegal immigration statistics when a bullet grazed his ear.
Watch slow-motion footage of the head tilt the moment a bullet grazes Trump’s ear:
REPORT: Donald Trump says a last millisecond head tilt likely saved his life as slowed-down footage shows the bullet grazing his ear.
If Trump hadn’t moved his head, the bullet would likely have hit the rear of his head, ending his life.
Trump says he turned his head to look at… pic.twitter.com/uXIEjHIcRA
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 14, 2024
According to a witness who spoke to BBC News, the gunman was ‘bear crawling’ up the roof of the unsecured building. The witness said he was pointing at the gunman for two to three minutes and trying to alert police to the potential threat.
Police officers were running around clueless. Secret Service was looking in the direction of the shooter with their binoculars, according to the witness
WATCH:
EYE WITNESS describes to BBC News reporter seeing man with rifle on roof of building firing shots at President Trump rally in Pennsylvania before being shot by Secret Service pic.twitter.com/8Dfk19FsgH
— Georgina (@gs_mick) July 13, 2024
A local police officer reportedly confronted the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks on the roof but retreated after Crooks pointed his rifle at him.
According to sources who spoke to NBC News, the Secret Service identified the rooftop as a security vulnerability days before the Butler rally.
NBC News reported:
The rooftop where a gunman shot at former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally was identified by the Secret Service as a potential vulnerability in the days before the event, two sources familiar with the agency’s operations told NBC News.
The building, owned by a glass research company, is adjacent to the Butler Farm Show, an outdoor venue in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Secret Service was aware of the risks associated with it, the sources said.
“Someone should have been on the roof or securing the building so no one could get on the roof,” said one of the sources, a former senior Secret Service agent who was familiar with the planning.
Understanding how the gunman got onto the roof — despite those concerns — is a central question for investigators scrutinizing how a lone attacker managed to shoot at Trump during Saturday’s campaign event.
