The shooter, identified only as a white male, was in an elevated sniper position located hundreds of yards away from Trump’s podium in Butler, Pa. as he spoke to a campaign crowd, sources said.
Bystander footage captured in the aftermath of the gunfire shows what appears to be a deceased man in light-colored military fatigues splayed out on a rooftop a few hundred feet from the rally stage.
BBC News interviewed several Trump supporters outside the event who described seeing a suspicious person “bear crawling” up the roof of a nearby building ahead of the shooting.
“He had a rifle — you could clearly see him with a rifle, absolutely,” said one man, describing the suspect getting into position.
He claimed his group, who was about 50 feet away from the structure, frantically tried to point out the man to nearby cops but said it “didn’t seem like they knew what was going on.”
The witness said the armed man was positioned on the roof “3-4 minutes” before he started firing.
“Next thing you know, five shots rang out,” he said.
He also said he saw the moment the Secret Service fired the fatal shots that took the gunman’s life.
“They blew his head off. The Secret Service blew his head off,” the supporter told the outlet.
Elon Musk posted BBC News’ interview on X , blasting the Secret Service for their allegedly slow response, writing, “The head of the Secret Service and the leader of this security detail should resign.” the Tesla CEO wrote.
Earlier, Musk posted, “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.”
Saturday’s attack marked the first assassination attempt of a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.
It came just days before Trump is to be officially named the Republican nominee at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
With Post wires
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