Washington:
Two witnesses at Donald Trump’s campaign rally in Pennsylvania, where he was attacked, claimed to have seen the gunman. One of them said the shooter was walking from rooftop to rooftop, apparently looking for a perfect spot to fire at the former US president.
The FBI on Sunday identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. Crooks, armed with an AR-style rifle, was killed by Secret Service personnel after firing multiple shots into the stage from an “elevated position outside the venue,” the agency said.
The shooter was able to get close enough to shoot and wound Trump, who is seen as a major failure by the security services that were supposed to cover him in the run-up to the election.
The gunman was on a rooftop about “200 to 250 meters” from where the former US president was addressing his supporters, US media reported.
According to a witness named Ben Macer, he was standing along the fence and “saw the man going from roof to roof,” CBS News reported.
Macer further said he told an officer the shooter was on the roof, about “200 to 250 yards” away from where Trump was addressing his supporters.
“As I turned to go back to where I was, the gunshots started. Then there was chaos and we all ran away, and that was that,” he said.
Ryan Knight, a Butler resident and another witness along the fence, also said he saw the suspected shooter on top of the American Glass Research building, the report said.
“I walked to the perimeter where Trump was about 20 minutes before the shooting. As I walked, I was standing right next to the AGR building, where the shooter was standing,” Knight said.
“As I was sitting there, a guy said, 'Oh God, he had a gun.' When I looked up, there was a guy on top of the building with an M16 with a blanket, pointing at the president. He started shooting. There were four to five shots. I throw the guy I'm with to the ground. I jump to the ground, look up, and his head is split open by the Secret Service shot,” he said.
The Secret Service has confirmed that one attendee was killed and two others were seriously injured in the shooting.
“All the cops started flying over us and pushing us out. They took my name, witness statements, [and] mobile phone number to discuss what happened because there [weren’t many] “They are eyewitnesses,” Knight said.
“My main thought is why wasn't the Secret Service on top of AGR? That's a really big vantage point to shoot at the president. How could that have been missed?” Knight asked.
Macer said he didn't get a good look at the alleged shooter, but reiterated that he saw him walking from building to building.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published via a syndicated feed.)