One of the many unanswered questions surrounding the investigation of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump is how the accused shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, gained access to the roof of the American Glass Research building from which he reportedly fired. Local law enforcement officers told BeaverCountian.com, a local news outlet in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, on July 15 that the building just outside of the security perimeter established by Secret Service was in fact occupied by law enforcement. “There were three counter-snipers located in the building that the shooter eventually used to take shots at Trump,” one officer said.
According to the same report, a Beaver County police officer warned a command center of seeing a man with a rangefinder before Trump was shot. The officer had also warned that the man was scoping out the roof of the building he was stationed in as a counter-sniper, and that the man returned with a backpack before ultimately scaling the building. Separately, an AP report posted July 15 said that several rallygoers reported to local officers that Crooks was acting suspiciously and pacing near the magnetometers, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
According to the AP account, it was a Butler Township police officer who encountered the gunman on the roof before the shooting. The officer was looking for the suspicious person when another officer hoisted him up so he could grab the edge of the roof, local officials said. The officer dropped back down to safety when the gunman turned and pointed his rifle at him, according to Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe. Slupe, who was inside the rally venue when the shooting erupted and did not witness the encounter, said the officer could not have wielded his own gun under the circumstances. “I think all law enforcement on site did everything that they could, especially the local law enforcement,” Slupe told The Associated Press on July 15. “I hope they’re not made a scapegoat, because they did their job to the best of their abilities.”
