A law enforcement officer encountered shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks before he fired at former President Donald Trump Saturday during a Pennsylvania rally, The Associated Press reported Sunday.
Crooks pointed his rifle at an officer who climbed onto the building roof, prompting him to retreat down the ladder, two anonymous law enforcement officials told the AP. Crooks then fired his weapon at Trump.
Rally attendees had earlier alerted police that a man was climbing onto the roof of a building near the rally, the two officers told AP.
Trump’s ear was wounded in Saturday’s assassination attempt. Before Secret Service rushed him off the stage, Trump gestured to the crowd by raising his fist, video shows.
One attendee, identified as former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore, was fatally shot Saturday. Two others were critically injured.
Butler County Sheriff Michael T. Slupe told The Washington Post Sunday that a police officer encountered Crooks moments before he fired at Trump.
A witness told BBC News during an interview Saturday that he tried to warn police about the assassination attempt after noticing “a guy crawling” up the building and seeing that he “clearly” had a rifle, but he said the police responded with confusion. The individual alleged security did nothing for several minutes.
“They didn’t know what was going on,” the witness told BBC News. “We’re like, ‘hey, right here on the roof, we can see him from right here! We can see him.
