Law enforcement sources have reported to a local news station in Pennsylvania that Thomas Crooks was spotted on the roof nearly 30 minutes before he fired shots that injured Trump, killed a former fire chief, and wounded two others in the crowd.
Nicole Ford, a reporter for a local news station in Pennsylvania, has confirmed that Beaver County's Emergency Services Unit (ESU) had eight members at the rally, including snipers and spotters. According to Ford’s sources, one of these spotters noticed a suspicious individual on a roof near the rally at 5:45 p.m., called it in, and took a picture of the person, later identified as Thomas Crooks. It is unclear if Crooks had a gun at that moment.
Multiple sources also reported that a law enforcement officer had seen Crooks on the ground earlier and had called him in as a suspicious person, taking a picture of him before 5:45 p.m. An officer checked the area but did not locate Crooks where the first picture was taken.
Twenty-six minutes after the second sighting and picture of Crooks, shots were fired from the roof of the American Glass Research building. A Secret Service sniper returned fire, killing Crooks seconds later.
