Police snipers were stationed in same building as Trump shooter – Washington Examiner

A team of snipers, tasked with protecting former President Donald Trump, were perched just below the roof where Thomas Matthew Crooks fired off multiple shots into the crowd.

According to a source familiar with the investigation, CNN reported that a unit made up of local law enforcement snipers had been assigned to the second floor of the warehouse, approximately 410 feet from Trump’s podium. Supervisors had instructed them to monitor the crowd.

The warehouse had been excluded by the Secret Service from its “inner perimeter” area despite being fewer than 500 feet away from the former president and a clear shot for a gunman. On two white rooftops behind Trump’s podium and the bleachers, four Secret Service countersniper teams scanned the crowd. But outside of this perimeter, the agency left building security up to local police officers who often assist when coordinating protection at events such as Saturday’s rally. It is unclear how much of this building designation was actually communicated between the two parties.

The Butler Farm Show, the site of the July 13, 2024, Trump campaign rally, is seen in this photo from Butler, Pennsylvania. On July 13, Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump was wounded during an assassination attempt while speaking at the rally. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Numerous attendees listening to the rally on the periphery have revealed to news outlets that they shouted to police multiple times about a man with a gun crawling atop the warehouse.

In a video taken by an onlooker that was analyzed by the New York Times, people can be seen pointing in the direction of Crooks, who is fully visible against the sun-beaten, metal roof.

“Officer!” a man yelled in the footage, hoping to raise an alarm.

“He’s on the roof, right here! He’s on the roof!” another woman shouted.

Each of these warnings for police sounded a full two minutes before the gunman pulled the trigger. It is unclear whether or not the Secret Service had been aware of these signals at the time.

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According to Michael Sloupe, the sheriff of Butler County, an armed officer from local law enforcement came face-to-face with Crooks on the roof. Sloupe told CBS that, having heard cries from the crowd, the officer began scouring the location for a potential threat. He was then hoisted onto the roof by another officer and began climbing the metal shingles when Crooks turned his rifle toward the officer, causing him to lose his grip and fall from the roof.

It was then that Crooks began firing into the crowd. 

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