Trump shooter was spotted 90 minutes before attack: texts

By 
 July 30, 2024

Since the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, Secret Service has faced criticism over catastrophic failures in planning and communication.

According to the New York Times, local police snipers spotted Thomas Matthew Crooks 90 minutes before he fired his gun from a rooftop.

The Beaver County Emergency Services Unit snipers were stationed inside a building adjoining the warehouse that Crooks would later climb onto.

Trump shooting texts

One of the snipers noticed Crooks at a picnic table at 4:26 p.m. and alerted his team.

The sniper wrote, "Someone followed our lead and snuck in and parked by our cars just so you know."

“I’m just letting you know because you see me go out with my rifle and put it in my car so he knows you guys are up there sitting to the direct right on a picnic table about 50 yards from the exit," the sniper added.

Later, another police sniper took photos of Crooks after noticing him with a rangefinder. The sniper shared the pictures in text chat at 5:38 p.m and they were forwarded to Secret Service.

“I did see him with a range finder looking towards stage. FYI. If you wanna notify SS snipers to look out. I lost sight of him," the sniper wrote.

Finger pointing

The Secret Service has faced scrutiny for failing to act on the suspicious reports before Trump took the stage.

At a Senate hearing Tuesday, the agency's new acting director Ronald Rowe accused local police of sharing incomplete information.

“The only thing we had was that locals were working an issue at the three o’clock – which would have been the former president’s right-hand side – which is where the shot came,” Rowe said. “Nothing about man on the roof, nothing about man with a gun. None of that information ever made it over our net.”

On a more basic level, Secret Service has struggled to explain why the rooftop wasn't guarded in the first place. Rowe blamed local law enforcement for that, too.

"We assumed that the state and locals had it," Rowe replied. "I can assure you that we're not going to make that mistake again."

Of course, the Secret Service is ultimately responsible for the president's security. The local police team told ABC News in an exclusive interview that Secret Service bailed on a face-to-face briefing.

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