Thomas Matthew Crooks Alleged To Have Scouted Rally Shooting Spot In Advance

The 20-year-old gunman who attempted to assassinate former president Donald Trump at a rally on Saturday was shot and killed seconds after he opened fire.

As questions continue to arise about how the Secret Service handled the incident, professionals are beginning to comment.

A retired Secret Service agent and security expert claims Thomas Matthew Crooks scoped out the shooting spot in advance.

Thomas Matthew Crooks is believed to have scouted the Butler Farm rally site and meticulously planned his attack before attempting to kill the former president at a Trump rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, according to a retired Secret Service agent and security expert.

"It’s clear now the gunman did an advance of the target before the event," Bill Gage, who is now a consultant at Safehaven Security Group, said per Fox News. "[Arthur] Bremer, [Lee Harvey] Oswald and [John] Hinckley, they all scouted before," he added, referring to those who attacked Presidents Richard Nixon, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan, respectively.

"He knew that there were elevated positions there i.e., those buildings off in the distance, and that he would need a ladder to access," Gage said to Fox News Digital. "It is being reported that he didn’t use it – but the purchase indicates to me that there was some advance planning involved," further claiming that the 20-year-old knew he would need a rifle and not a handgun.

While he didn't use the ladder to climb up onto the roof, Cooks' purchase of the item is very suspicious and "telling," according to Gage.

"But buying a ladder is very telling," he said. "Sometime between the announcement of the event and Trump taking the stage, he scouted out the location and decided that a rooftop attack with a rifle was the best plan."

Instead of using the ladder, Crooks climbed up an air conditioning unit to get onto the roof, per ABC News.

Additionally, David Katz, a former DEA special agent and federal firearms instructor who is now the CEO of Global Security Group, spoke out, claiming that the specific gun Crooks was carrying is also a sign that he pre-planned the shooting and took extreme measures to map out the attempted assassination.

"That tells me this kid not only practiced but was aware of how to sight-in his rifle at that distance and probable declination of angle," he told Fox News Digital. "It tells you the exact distance to your target, and the angle up or down, and you just dial in."

Several gunshots rang out shortly after Donald Trump took the stage at the rally on Saturday, prompting Secret Service agents to swiftly surround the 78-year-old and shield him behind the podium. Blood was visible on his right ear as he was escorted to safety.

"I want to thank The United States Secret Service, and all of Law Enforcement, for their rapid response on the shooting that just took place in Butler, Pennsylvania," he said shortly after the incident.

"I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear," the former President revealed. "I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin. Much bleeding took place, so I realized then what was happening. GOD BLESS AMERICA!"

The FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white city in the southern part of the greater Pittsburgh area. The rally took place in Butler, about an hour's drive north of Pittsburgh.

Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022. According to a law enforcement official, there are currently no known ties to foreign terrorism for Crooks, and he was not on law enforcement's radar, as reported by CBS.

The 20-year-old used a semi-automatic rifle, and approximately eight shots were fired. The FBI is still looking into a possible motive for the attempted assassination.