Haunting new video emerges of Trump shooter Thomas Crooks lurking at rally just hours before assassination attempt
SHOCKING new footage shows the shooter from Donald Trump’s July 13 rally strolling around the premises just an hour before he took aim at the former president.
Authorities later revealed 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks was responsible for shooting Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
In addition to wounding the former president, Crooks killed one rally attendee and critically injured two others.
New footage from a man who attended the rally with his son shows Crooks just about an hour before the shooting occurred.
Crooks can be seen stealthily walking behind a massive screen on the rally field.
The attendee who caught the criminal on film said he was simply trying to capture the size of the crowd.
“I wanted to pan the crowd because it was a massive crowd, so I was just taking in the moment,” he told ABC affiliate WTAE.
“So this was before the shooting. Obviously had no idea how that day, how that day would end.”
“When I saw the video last night, when I was going back through my video clips and saw him, I was chilled to the point where I couldn’t fall asleep right away,” he continued.
“I didn’t sleep well. There’s — there’s something. Something really went wrong with this.”
About 40 minutes after the video was taken, authorities first spotted Crooks positioned on a rooftop about 430 feet away from the stage the former president was speaking on, ABC News reported.
Several gunshots rang from the rooftop 20 minutes after he was first spotted.
Secret Service agents instantly jumped on the former president, protecting him from any further shots, then rushed him off the stage.
The moment the shots went off, Secret Service snipers shot and killed the shooter within 26 seconds.
Despite the fast reaction of the agents surrounding Trump, the agency has gotten significant scrutiny for not preventing the shooting.
Law enforcement first noticed a suspicious person, later identified as Thomas Crooks, lurking around the rooftop at 5:52 p.m.
Donald Trump Rally Shooting Timeline
Donald Trump was shot at his Pennsylvania rally on July 13.
1pm: Doors open at the Butler Farm Show grounds where Trump was expected to speak at 5pm.
4:11pm: Sean Parnell gave the opening speech.
4:35pm: David McCormick rallied the crowd.
5:30pm: Crowds were still waiting for Trump.
6:03pm: Trump takes the stage.
6:11pm: Gunshots were fired as Trump delivered remarks.
6:12pm: Trump was ushered off stage by Secret Service agents.
6:42pm: Secret Service confirmed Trump is safe.
7:24pm: The shooter and one rally attendee are confirmed dead by law enforcement officials.
8:42pm: Trump confirms he was shot in the ear, sharing a statement on Truth Social.
8:49pm: The Secret Service confirms the shooter and a rally attendee are dead. Two others remain critically injured.
At 6:12 pm, Crooks fired his first shots.
Former law enforcement agents and political pundits criticized the Secret Service for not neutralizing the threatening suspect when he was first spotted.
“I think what you saw with the guy who was able to sneak on top of a roof is possibly because you had unqualified people not doing surveillance of the area,” 22-year Air Force veteran Darrell Smith previously told The U.S. Sun.
“I mean I’m a retired Air Force guy, I would have had drones in the area, surveilling the air, and you would have easily seen somebody on the rooftop, not just at ground level, and they obviously weren’t doing that.
“You got about three minutes of a guy that said ‘I saw a guy with a rifle climb on the roof,’ and no one told him about it.
“I’ve been in several military operations and three minutes means life and death, and we’re just very lucky that Trump didn’t lose his life.”
Who was Thomas Matthew Crooks?
Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was identified as the would-be assassin who tried to kill Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, during a campaign rally in Butler Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.
Who is Thomas Matthew Crooks?
- Thomas Matthew Crooks left few clues about his identity, and investigators said he did not have a social media presence.
- What is known is Crooks was from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, a small suburb about 30 minutes south of Pittsburgh.
- He lived with his parents, Mary Elizabeth Crooks and Matthew Brian Crooks.
- The Crooks have been licensed professional counselors since 2002, according to the Pennsylvania Department of State Licensing System Verification service.
- Thomas Matthew Crooks attended and graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022.
- In May 2024, Crooks graduated from the Community College of Allegheny County with an associate degree in engineering science, the school revealed.
- Crooks was previously employed as a dietary aide at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
- He was a registered Republican but made a small $15 donation to a progressive political group in January 2021.
- Crooks did not have a criminal history in Pennsylvania.
How did Thomas Crooks obtain the rifle used in the shooting?
- Federal investigators believe the AR-15-style rifle Thomas Crooks used in the shooting on July 13 was legally purchased and registered to his father.
- Matthew Brian Crooks purchased the weapon at least six months before the Trump rally shooting, according to AP News.
- It’s unknown how the younger Crooks took possession of the firearm.
- The Crooks family is cooperating with federal investigators.
- Thomas Crooks also had a membership at the local shooting club, the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, for at least a year, according to BBC.
What were Thomas Matthew Crooks’ final moments?
- On July 12, federal investigators learned Thomas Crooks visited the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club.
- On July 13, the day of the Trump rally in Butler, Crooks went to a Home Depot and purchased a five-foot ladder that investigators believe he used to scale a rooftop about 430 feet outside the Secret Service’s perimeter.
- That same day, investigators said Crooks purchased 50 rounds of ammunition at a gun store and drove his Hyundai Sonata an hour north to Butler.
- Crooks fired at least eight shots at Donald Trump and rally-goers at 6:11 pm, less than 10 minutes after the presidential candidate took the stage.
- A Secret Service counter-sniper positioned near the stage where Trump was delivering his remarks returned fire within seconds, killing Crooks.
What was his motive behind the shooting?
- The FBI is still working on determining a motive behind the shooting.
- The federal agency is viewing the act as domestic terrorism.
- Crooks is believed to have acted alone.
- Federal officials have been able to gain access to Crooks’ cell phone, but it has yielded no clues about a motive, according to the New York Post.
- Crooks’ cell phone and laptop have been sent to the FBI’s lab in Quantico, Virginia, for further analysis.