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Trump rally shooting: Video appears to show Thomas Crooks running across roof, taking position before shooting| Watch
The shocking video was taken by James Copenhaver, who was eventually gravely wounded in the shooting.
New footage from Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania rally shows a figure running across the AGR International roof outside the rally grounds shortly before the shooting was carried out. The chilling video was taken by James Copenhaver, who was eventually gravely wounded in the shooting.
The footage, captured on July 13 at 6:08 pm, which is minutes before shots were fired, appears to show gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks running along the rooftop. He appears to be in clear view of the former president, who was on the stage at the time.
The figure is seen running across the rooftop and then crouching down to take position over the rally, the video obtained by Fox News shows. All the while, Trump speaks on the stage, addressing the crowd, unaware of the danger. The clip cuts out before the shooting unfolds.
Crooks was killed by Secret Service snipers after he opened fire. Trump was wounded by Crooks, and firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed. Meanwhile, two bullets hit Copenhaver, 74, and another two struck 57-year-old attendee David Dutch. Both of them are recovering.
Thomas Matthew Crooks may have shared ‘antisemitic’ posts online
Meanwhile, the FBI has revealed that Crooks is believed to have shared “antisemitic” ideas and embraced “political violence” on social media, but the “investigative team is still working to verify this account to determine if it did in fact belong to the shooter.” Between 2019 and 2020, the account left about 700 comments online, Deputy FBI Director Paul Abbate told Congress.
“Some of these comments, if ultimately attributable to the shooter, appear to reflect antisemitic and anti-immigration themes, to espouse political violence and are described as extreme in nature,” Abbate said, according to New York Post.
In latest developments, acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe admitted at a joint congressional hearing this week that he was “ashamed” of the lapses that led to the shooting at the rally. “As a career law enforcement officer, and a 25-year veteran with the Secret Service, I cannot defend why that roof was not better secured,” he added.
