PITTSBURGH — Channel 11 News exclusively confirmed Tuesday that Thomas Crooks was spotted by police hanging around the American Glass Research complex more than an hour before the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump.
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Multiple law enforcement sources described the security operation in detail Tuesday, directly contradicting public statements from the U.S. Secret Service Director.
According to law enforcement sources in multiple counties in western Pennsylvania, there were two sniper teams set up near the building where Thomas Crooks fired from Saturday evening. However, in direct contrast to comments made by Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle, there were no local police in the same building where Crooks made it on the roof.
Channel 11′s Nicole Ford also obtained exclusive photos showing the cell phone and transmitter device found next to Crooks moments after a Secret Service sniper shot and killed him. On Monday, Ford reported pictures of Crooks had been taken by local police at least 26 minutes before shots were fired and sent up the command chain.
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On Tuesday, multiple law enforcement sources confirmed with Ford that Crooks was also spotted by police with a range finder.
According to multiple sources, when former president Trump took the stage Saturday, Crooks was still on the ground and had not yet climbed the roof of the building. Channel 11 news can also confirm that Crooks was on the roof with a gun for fewer than seven minutes when first confronted by a Butler Township police officer.
Ford questioned state police on their role in the command center and who was running the top lines of communication. She was told they cannot release information relating to operational security or planning.
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