According to NBC News, the Secret Service identified the roof next to the event in Butler, Pennsylvania, as a security breach days before the Trump rally.
Agents failed to secure the building, so a man with a rifle climbed onto the roof, adjusted his scope and fired several shots at President Trump.
A bullet grazed Trump’s right ear. Two rally attendees were injured. A Trump supporter was shot and killed.
President Trump told former White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson that a last millisecond tilt of his head saved his life after a gunman shot him from above at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Trump told Dr. Ronny Jackson that he turned his head to the right to look at a chart of illegal immigration statistics when a bullet grazed his ear.
Watch the slow-motion footage of Trump’s head tilting as the bullet grazed his ear:
Report: Donald Trump says a last millisecond tilt of his head may have saved his life as slow motion shows a bullet grazing his ear.
If Trump had not moved his head, the bullet would have likely hit him in the back of the head, ending his life.
Trump said he turned his head and looked… pic.twitter.com/uXIEjHICRA
— Colin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 14, 2024
According to a witness who spoke to BBC News, the gunman was “bear crawling” on the roof of the unsafe building. Witnesses said he pointed at the gunman for two to three minutes in an attempt to alert police to the potential threat.
The police were running around with no clue. According to witnesses, the Secret Service was looking in the direction of the gunman with binoculars.
watch:
Witnesses told BBC News they saw a man with a rifle firing on the roof of a building at a President Trump rally in Pennsylvania before being shot by the 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 a rooftop, but was killed after Crooks pointed a rifle at him. A local police officer retreated.
The Secret Service identified the roof as a security breach days before the Butler rally, according to sources who spoke to NBC News.
NBC News reports:
The Secret Service identified the roof where a gunman opened fire on former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally as a potential vulnerability days before the event, two sources familiar with Secret Service operations told NBC News.
The building is owned by Glass Research and is adjacent to the Butler Farm Show, an outdoor venue in Butler, Pennsylvania. The Secret Service is aware of the risks associated with it, sources said.
“There should be someone on the roof or protecting the building so no one can get on the roof,” said a source familiar with the plan who is a former senior Secret Service agent.
Despite those concerns, understanding how the gunman climbed onto the roof is a central question as investigators scrutinize how a lone assailant managed to shoot Trump during a campaign event on Saturday.
