There are now two theories about how Thomas Crooks planted a DPMS AR-15 rifle on the roof of the AGR building in Butler, Pennsylvania, last Saturday without anyone noticing ahead of an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, who is now the Republican presidential nominee in 2024.
According to a federal law enforcement source briefed on the investigation, Crooks either hid his father's rifle near the air conditioning unit he used to climb to the roof of the AGR building, or had it in the backpack he was seen carrying, along with the golf rangefinder.
Thomas Matthew Crooks is pictured in front of the Butler Fairgrounds following the attempted assassination of the former president on July 14, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Bethel Park School District/Getty Images)
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However, this source said that hiding the rifle in his backpack would require a significant amount of disassembly and reassembly of the rifle, and that the most likely scenario is that Crooks hid the rifle behind the air conditioning unit.
Fox News reported that Crooks purchased a ladder and ammunition the morning of the protest. However, federal law enforcement sources say no ladder was found at the scene and the theory is that Crooks grabbed the rifle, climbed onto the air conditioning unit and then climbed onto the roof.
Undated file photo of Thomas Matthew Crooks. Crooks is suspected of being the shooter in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
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We also now know that the unit inside that building was a Butler Township Emergency Services Unit sniper team that was “surveilling” the event. This team was watching the event from the windows of the building, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity, as Crooks crept up to the roof above them.
Undated file photo of Thomas Matthew Crooks in a yearbook photo. Crooks is suspected of being the shooter in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Saturday, July 13, 2024. (Obtained by Fox News Digital)
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Fox News can also report that the Secret Service sniper who killed Crooks only fired one shot.
