Onlookers noticed the gunman who attempted to assassinate former US President Donald Trump and attempted to alert police to the danger for a significant period of time before he opened fire, videos from the scene show.
In a video posted to X, multiple bystanders saw Thomas Matthew Crooks lying on a roof overlooking the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump could be heard speaking in the background.
At the beginning of the 52-second video, the man holding the phone on which the video was taken said, “Look they’re all pointing" at Crooks. The camera focused on Crooks, who was clearly visible lying on the warehouse roof.
The man taking the video also said, “Yeah, someone’s up on the top of the roof. There he is right there.”
One of the witnesses attempted to draw a police officer's attention to Crooks, and a woman yelled, "He's on the roof!" They continued to describe Crooks' actions, including when he stood up, possibly to take his shot at Trump.
Following the shooting, which left one man dead and multiple people wounded, including former President Trump, multiple witnesses have come forward to say that they saw the shooter and attempted to alert the police or the Secret Service to the danger before he opened fire, to no avail.
The Secret Service has been criticized for failing to adequately secure the site of the rally, which allowed Crooks to reach the roof and spend multiple minutes there before he attempted to assassinate Trump.
One police officer reportedly attempted to confront Crooks on the roof just before the shooting, but was stopped when Crooks pointed his rifle at him.