A local SWAT sniper noticed the suspected gunman at former President Donald Trump’s deadly campaign rally earlier than previously known, according to text messages obtained by ABC News.
On July 13, in what authorities have said was an assassination attempt, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire at the event in Butler, Pennsylvania, killing one spectator, critically injuring two others and leaving Trump bleeding from his right ear.
At 4:26 p.m. — nearly two hours before the shooting began — a sniper leaving the area where local SWAT members assembled saw Crooks “sitting to the direct right on a picnic table about 50 yards from the exit,” the text message said.
The obtained text messages were shared among snipers in the American Glass Research (AGR) building area, which was being used as a staging area for local police, who were inside the structure.
The sniper who alerted others that Crooks was lurking in the area noted Crooks was likely aware of the snipers’ position, writing, “because you see me go out with my rifle and put it in my car, so he knows you guys are up there.”
Less than an hour later, as ABC News previously reported, a member of that same sniper team identified Crooks as suspicious — and shortly after that, called it into local command, warning of the suspicious presence.
In their first public comments since the assassination attempt, the Beaver County SWAT team on the ground that day and their supervisors spoke exclusively with ABC News Senior Investigative Correspondent Aaron Katersky.
It is the first time any key law enforcement personnel on-site on July 13 have offered first-hand accounts of what occurred.
