Video taken by a bystander shows people pointing to the man suspected of shooting at former President Donald J. Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania and frantically warning law enforcement, just two minutes before the first burst of gunfire rang out, according to an analysis of the footage by The New York Times.
“Someone’s on top of the roof,” one person is heard saying. “There he is, right there.”
“He’s on the roof!” says another, calling to an officer. “Right here, right on the roof.”
The footage shows the suspected gunman lying prone on the roof of a white structure, which The Times previously identified as the location from which shots were fired. The building is roughly 400 feet from the stage where Mr. Trump was standing, but was outside the rally’s security perimeter.
The video was taken at 6:09 p.m., two minutes before Mr. Trump was shot, according to the Times analysis. As the camera zooms in, the man crawls from the edge of the roof toward its peak. At that moment, he was likely out of sight of Secret Service sharpshooters on another building’s roof about 400 feet away.
At one point in the video, at least one law enforcement officer appears to be walking near the building, but it’s unclear if the officer heard the warnings or knew a potential shooter was on the roof.
Another video, captured about 57 seconds after the first video ends, shows the side of the building that faced the rally. An officer is seen walking toward the building slowly from a different direction; it’s unclear if this is the same officer as in the first video.
At least three police vehicles are also seen parked in the lot next to the building, including one directly outside an entrance to the building. It is unclear if any officers are inside the cars.
Thirteen seconds into the video, while the officer walks alongside the building toward the gunman, the first shots ring out. The shooter is briefly visible on top of the roof. The officer flinches at the shots, and appears to turn away from the building.
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