Trump assassination attempt: Newly uncovered footage shows figure on roof seconds before gunfire
A deep dive into the recently released bodycam footage of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump appears to show the shooting suspect walking on top of a roof just minutes before he managed to fire off his deadly rounds at the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last month.
The newly unearthed footage sheds further light on the assassination attempt and the seconds leading up to the July 13 shooting.
When stabilized and zoomed in, one of the bodycam clips released by Butler Township Police Department shows a shadowy figure emerging on top of the American Glass Research (AGR) complex building at 6:08 p.m.
ATTEMPTED TRUMP ASSASSIN SEEN WALKING AROUND PENNSYLVANIA RALLY HOURS BEFORE OPENING FIRE
The police officer whose bodycam captures the figure is walking in a green area on the east side of the AGR complex, near the water tower, when his body camera captures who is believed to be Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, roof-hopping and making his way to the southernmost structure of the complex.
Another figure, likely a police officer, can be seen walking on the ground in the opposite direction of Crooks and appears unaware that the shooter is on the roof, the footage shows.
In the intervening minutes, the police officer can be seen communicating with other officers and then patrolling the adjoining car park. His bodycam does not have sound.
As the figure disappears again, the officer’s bodycam footage strikes 6:09 p.m., meaning Crooks took about two and a half minutes to set himself up and shoot at Trump and the other attendees, based on timestamps from other police bodycam footage.
The FBI has previously stated that Crooks accessed the roof of a building by climbing up HVAC equipment and piping. Crooks then traversed multiple rooftops before he found his shooting position on top of a building about 150 yards from where the former president spoke at his rally.
Investigators have determined that Crooks purchased a ladder hours prior to the assassination attempt, but he left it at his residence in Bethel Park and did not use the ladder at the rally. No ladder was found at the scene.
The newly uncovered video corroborates Crooks' timeline in a video by James Copenhaver, one of the victims shot. That video also shows a figure maneuvering on the rooftop.
Crooks got off eight shots while trying to take out Trump, according to a preliminary report released by Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., last week.
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One bullet grazed Trump’s right ear, while firefighter Corey Comperatore was fatally struck. Rally-goers James Copenhaver and David Dutch were also shot and injured.
Another shot was fired by a Butler SWAT operator from the ground, about 100 yards away from the AGR building. The shot hit Crooks’ rifle stock and fragged his face and shoulder area due to the stock breaking up, Higgins said.
Another shot was fired by the southern Secret Service counter-sniper team, which entered Crooks' left mouth area and exited the right ear area.
Chilling new video has also just been released showing Crooks casually walking through a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, nearly two hours before the shooting.
The short clip, released by the clothing company Iron Clad USA, shows Crooks at 4:26 p.m. dressed in shorts and a "Demolitia" T-shirt walking past a line of vendors selling Trump merchandise ahead of the July 13 rally, not carrying anything. He was wearing the same T-shirt when he opened fire on Trump.
Text messages sent by local law enforcement responsible for monitoring former President Trump's Pennsylvania flagged Crooks to colleagues as suspicious at least 90 minutes before he opened fire.
The messages, obtained by Fox News Digital via Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who obtained them from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit, showed that officers flagged Crooks after he was spotted using a range finder – but did not approach him.
Fox News’ Bonny Chu and Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.