Assassin in Trump’s attempted murder utilized air conditioning unit to access roof.

The gunman in the July assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump gained access to the roof he fired from by climbing atop an air-conditioning unit, according to a source familiar with the investigation. Video footage from a nearby ice cream shop showed the shooter using the unit to get onto the building about 450 feet away from where Trump was speaking at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Investigators found that the shooter, Thomas Crooks, had purchased a ladder before the incident, but ruled out its use to access the roof. Witnesses saw Crooks on the roof with a gun moments before the shots were fired, but a warning from a local police officer did not reach the Secret Service agents protecting Trump in time. Crooks used a collapsible barrel gun to move through the crowd undetected and had a clear shot at the former president from the building, which housed a plastics and glass company. Following the shooting, multiple Secret Service officials, including the agency’s special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office, were put on leave for their handling of the event. Trump held his first outdoor rally since the assassination attempt in North Carolina behind bulletproof glass. Kimberly Cheatle resigned as the director of the U.S. Secret Service earlier in the summer under pressure from lawmakers.

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