A local police officer encountered the suspected gunman at former President Donald Trump’s rally Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, on a nearby roof before the shooting started — but retreated down a ladder when the gunman pointed a rifle at the officer, law enforcement officials told the Associated Press.
The AP, citing the officials, said rally attendees warned local police after noticing a male climbing to a nearby building’s roof not long before shots rang out.
The AP said its analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos from the scene of the Trump rally … shows the shooter was able to get astonishingly close to the stage where the former president was speaking.
The outlet said one local police officer climbed to the roof and encountered suspected gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, who pointed his rifle at the officer — after which the officer retreated down the ladder and Crooks “quickly took a shot toward Trump.” The AP — citing the officials, who spoke to the outlet on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation — said that’s when Secret Service snipers shot the gunman.
Crooks, 20, was shot dead. CBS News, citing multiple law enforcement sources, reported that the gunman was armed with a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle and opened fire from a shed’s roof outside the cordoned-off rally area. Trump — who was seen on video bleeding from his right ear after shots rang out — survived the shooting and was whisked away by Secret Service.
The gunman critically wounded two rally attendees and fatally shot one — identified as Corey Comperator, a husband, father, and devout Christian.
Democrat Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Comperator was “a girl dad. Corey was a firefighter. Corey went to church every Sunday. Corey loved his community. And most especially, Corey loved his family.” Comperatore’s wife told Shapiro her husband “dove on his family to protect them last night at this rally.”
“Corey was the very best of us,” Shapiro said. “May his memory be a blessing.”
More from the AP:
An AP analysis of more than a dozen videos and photos from the scene of the Trump rally, as well as satellite imagery of the site, shows the shooter was able to get astonishingly close to the stage where the former president was speaking.
A video posted to social media and geolocated by the AP shows the body of a person lying motionless on the roof of a building at AGR International, a manufacturing plant just north of the Butler Farm Show grounds where Trump’s rally was held.
The roof where the person lay was less than 150 meters (164 yards) from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a decent marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target. For reference, 150 meters is a distance at which U.S. Army recruits must hit a scaled human-sized silhouette to qualify with the M-16 rifle. The AR-15, like the shooter at the Trump rally had, is the semi-automatic civilian version of the military M-16.
The AP added that Crooks’ firing position and clothing led some to wonder if he had military experience, but the outlet noted that all the U.S. military branches said they had no records of Crooks serving.
What else do we know?
Crooks also had explosives in his car and residence, CNN reported, citing law enforcement sources; Crooks’ father purchased the gun Crooks used, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing individuals familiar with the investigation.
Reuters said Crooks’ father — 53-year-old Matthew Crooks — told CNN he was trying to figure out what happened and would wait until he spoke to law enforcement before speaking about his son.
Fox News, citing voting records, reported that Crooks was a registered Republican, adding that he only took part in the Nov. 8, 2022, state election due to his age. Reuters — citing a 2021 Federal Election Commission filing — added that Crooks at age 17 made a $15 donation to ActBlue, a “political action committee that raises money for left-leaning and Democratic politicians.” The outlet added that the donation was for the Progressive Turnout Project, a national group that rallies Democrats to vote. Reuters reported that the groups didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.
More from Fox News:
Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022. He was one of nearly two dozen students from the school to earn a $500 “star award” from the National Math and Science Initiative.
An online recording of his graduation ceremony shows him walking the stage to minimal applause and briefly posing with a school official, the New York Times reported.
A search by Fox News Digital revealed Crooks would have turned 21 years old this September. He had no reported criminal or traffic citations and no reported bankruptcies, liens or foreclosures.
“We do not currently have an identified motive,” Kevin Rojek, FBI Pittsburgh special agent in charge, said at a briefing late Saturday night, according to CBS News.
A law enforcement official said early Sunday that there are so far no known foreign terrorism ties, the suspect was not on law enforcement’s radar, and authorities are still running down his name, CBS News added.
The FBI’s statement on Crooks also said “this remains an active and ongoing investigation, and anyone with information that may assist with the investigation is encouraged to submit photos or videos online at FBI.gov/butler or call 1-800-CALL-FBI.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
The post Local police officer encountered Trump rally gunman on roof prior to shooting: AP sources appeared first on TheBlaze.
