Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. | Evan Vucci, Associated Press
Trump shooter flew drone above rally site ahead of time – US media
The gunman who tried to assassinate Donald Trump flew a drone above the site of the shooting ahead of time, law enforcement officials have told US media.
They say it remains unclear whether Thomas Matthew Crooks did this hours or days before the fateful rally in Pennsylvania on 13 July, reports CBS, the BBC’s US media partner.
Trump, now officially the Republican presidential nominee, has said he was saved “by luck or by God” when a bullet pierced his right ear during a campaign speech.
A spectator was killed in the attack, while two others were seriously injured.
Crooks, 20, was shot dead at the scene by Security Service agents, who have come under intense scrutiny over the precautions taken to protect Trump at the rally – held outside in the city of Butler.
Security Service chief Kimberly Cheatle has been summoned to testify before a committee of the US House of Representatives on 22 July.
First reported by the Wall Street Journal, investigators told CBS they were still trying to determine when exactly Crooks flew the drone.
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They said they believed it was within days of the rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds.
Other US outlets, also citing security officials, claimed the device was flown above the area on the day the event took place.
The drone is thought to have been used by the shooter to pick the best line of sight for the podium where Trump was due to speak.
Crooks fired multiple shots from the roof of a building that was little more than 130m (430ft) from Trump.
In an interview with Fox News to be broadcast in full on Monday, Trump said nobody had warned him before he went on stage that there was a potential shooter.
“How did somebody get on that roof? And why wasn’t he reported, because people saw he was on that roof,” he said.
The drone – found in the gunman’s vehicle after the attack – is now being examined by investigators.
Two explosive devices, a tactical vest, and four magazines full of the same ammunition used in the attack were also discovered in the shooter’s vehicle.
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