The New York Times got access to texts between members of the Beaver County Emergency Service Unit before the shooting of former President Donald Trump that show shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks was seen as a suspicious person almost 100 minutes before the shooting occurred.
“Someone followed our lead and snuck in and parked by our cars just so you know,” a counter-sniper texted a colleague at 4:26 p.m.
Another counter-sniper took pictures of Crooks at 5:38 p.m. and sent them to a group chat.
One of the texts suggested letting the Secret Service know about the suspicious person since he was aiming his rangefinder at the stage of the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.
“Kid learning around the building we are in. AGR I believe it is,” the text reads. “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.”
Around 6:00 p.m., the members said they thought he had moved away from the event, but that was only a guess--and it was dead wrong.
Crooks was already on the roof at that time, and it was only a few minutes later that he shot Trump and several rallygoers, killing one and injuring two others.
Trump's Secret Service detail said it had not received reports of a suspicious person prior to spotting Crooks on the roof just minutes before the shooting.
Crooks was shot down by Secret Service counter-snipers moments after firing on Trump, but it is unclear why he wasn't shot down before he could shoot.
Rallygoers near the roof where Crooks was located shouted at police to alert them of his presence several minutes before Trump was shot, slightly injuring his ear.
While Trump escaped serious injury or death, firefighter Corey Comperatore lost his life after he threw himself over his wife and daughter's bodies to shield them from the bullets.
It seems that all of it could have been prevented if police and the Secret Service were doing their jobs and communicating effectively in those 90-plus minutes before the shooting occurred.
The security failures were obviously multi-layered, and have already caused Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle to resign over the debacle.
There is still no known motive for the shooting.
