An in-depth analysis of newly released body camera footage from the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump appears to show the shooting suspect walking on a roof just minutes before he managed to fire his deadly rounds at the campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last month.
Newly discovered footage sheds more light on the attempted murder and the seconds leading up to the July 13 shooting.
When stabilized and zoomed in, one of the body camera clips released by the Butler Township Police Department shows a dark figure emerging on top of the American Glass Research (AGR) building complex at 6:08 p.m.
TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SEEN WALKING THROUGH A RALLY IN PENNSYLVANIA HOURS BEFORE HE OPENED FIRE
New video appears to show Thomas Matthew Crooks, top right, on a rooftop before his assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, left. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images, left, Iron Clad USA, middle, Butler Township Police Department, right, Fox News, bottom right).
The police officer whose body camera captures the figure is walking in a grassy area on the east side of the AGR complex, near the water tower, when his body camera captures who is believed to be Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, jumping from one roof to another and making his way toward the southernmost structure in the complex.
Another figure, likely a police officer, can be seen walking across the floor in the opposite direction from Crooks and appears unaware that the shooter is on the roof, the footage shows.
In the intervening minutes, the officer can be seen communicating with other officers and then patrolling the adjacent parking lot. His body camera has no sound.
When the figure disappears again, the officer's body camera footage reads 6:09 p.m., meaning it took Crooks about two and a half minutes to prepare and shoot Trump and the other attendees, according to timestamps on other police body camera footage.
The AGR building where Thomas Matthew Crooks fired his shots. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
The FBI has previously stated that Crooks gained access to the roof of a building by climbing over heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment and pipes. Crooks then traversed several rooftops before finding his shooting position on top of a building about 150 yards from where the former president spoke at his rally.
Investigators determined that Crooks purchased a ladder hours before the attempted murder, but left it at his Bethel Park residence and did not use it at the demonstration. No ladder was found at the scene.
The newly discovered video corroborates Crooks' timeline in a video of James Copenhaver, one of the shooting victims. That video also shows a figure maneuvering on the roof.
The gunmen fired eight shots as they tried to eliminate Trump, according to a preliminary report released by Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., last week.
TRUMP SHOOTING: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW GUNOWER EVADED SECURITY
New video from James Copenhaver, one of the critically wounded victims of a July 13 assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, shows a figure moving across a rooftop just minutes before shots were heard at Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. (James Copenhaver)
A bullet grazed Trump's right ear, while firefighter Corey Comperatore was fatally wounded. Rally attendees James Copenhaver and David Dutch were also shot and wounded.
A Butler SWAT operator fired another shot from the ground about 100 yards from the AGR building. The shot struck the butt of Crooks' rifle and shattered his face and shoulder area because the butt broke, Higgins said.
The Southern Secret Service sniper team fired another shot, which entered Crooks' left mouth area and exited his right ear area.
A chilling new video has also just been released showing Crooks calmly walking through a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, nearly two hours before the shooting.
A chilling new video has been released showing Thomas Matthew Crooks calmly walking through a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, nearly two hours before he opened fire on former President Donald Trump and attendees at a campaign rally. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images, main, and Iron Clad USA, sidebar).
The short video, posted by clothing company Iron Clad USA, shows Crooks at 4:26 p.m. wearing shorts and a T-shirt with the words “Demolitia” walking past a row of vendors selling Trump merchandise ahead of the July 13 rally, carrying nothing in his hand. He was wearing the same T-shirt when he opened fire on Trump.
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Text messages sent by local law enforcement officials responsible for monitoring former President Trump's Pennsylvania home flagged Crooks as a suspect to colleagues at least 90 minutes before he opened fire.
The messages, obtained by Fox News Digital from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who obtained them from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit, showed officers spotted Crooks after they detected him using a rangefinder, but did not approach him.
Fox News' Bonny Chu and Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
