WASHINGTON: Police noticed Thomas Crooks, the man who tried to kill Donald Trump, more than an hour before the July 13 shooting and shared a photo with officers at the site of the rally, an FBI agent said Monday.
“The shooter was identified as a suspicious person,” said FBI’s Kevin Rojek. SWAT operators observed Crooks about 30 mins later, shortly after 5.30pm, using a range finder and browsing news sites on his phone.At 6.08pm, police dashcam video observed Crooks on the roof of the building from where he fired his shots.
“At 6.11pm a cop was boosted onto the roof where he encountered the subject,” Rojek said. Crooks pointed his rifle at the officer, who “immediately dropped to the ground,” he said. “And 25 to 30 secs later, the subject fired eight rounds before being neutralised.”
Trump to do ‘victim interview’
Trump has agreed to sit for a standard victim’s interview, which “will be consistent with any interview we do,” Rojek said. “We want to get his perspective on what he saw.”
“The shooter was identified as a suspicious person,” said FBI’s Kevin Rojek. SWAT operators observed Crooks about 30 mins later, shortly after 5.30pm, using a range finder and browsing news sites on his phone.At 6.08pm, police dashcam video observed Crooks on the roof of the building from where he fired his shots.
“At 6.11pm a cop was boosted onto the roof where he encountered the subject,” Rojek said. Crooks pointed his rifle at the officer, who “immediately dropped to the ground,” he said. “And 25 to 30 secs later, the subject fired eight rounds before being neutralised.”
Trump to do ‘victim interview’
Trump has agreed to sit for a standard victim’s interview, which “will be consistent with any interview we do,” Rojek said. “We want to get his perspective on what he saw.”