Officer reported man at Trump rally with range-finder 30 mins before assassination attempt: source
SUMMARY
In Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, a local law enforcement officer spotted a suspicious man carrying a range-finder near the venue where former President Donald Trump was holding a rally in Butler County on July 13, 2024. The officer promptly reported the sighting to state police and took a photograph. There was a subsequent discussion among authorities about whether the device was binoculars aimed at improving the view of the rally. Moments after Trump began his speech, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, opened fire, injuring Trump and fatally shooting a 50-year-old attendee. Crooks was then neutralized by a Secret Service counter-sniper. Authorities recovered a legally purchased DPMS AR-15 5.56 rifle from the scene, traced back to Crooks' father. The FBI is investigating the motive behind the attack, treating it as an apparent lone-wolf incident.
