BUTLER, PA. (WHDH) – Monday was another busy day for investigators at the fairgrounds in Butler, Pa., just two days after an assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump at a political rally Saturday.
The crime scene remained sealed off to the public Monday afternoon. Neighbors said it was shocking to them that they did not have their properties swept by law enforcement before Trump came to the township to speak.
Valerie Fennell showed 7News the building from which shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire, which happened to be right behind her house.
“The shooter was on this building. I know you can’t see the roof but you can see the edge of the buildings,” she said.
New cell phone video shows Crooks scaling the roof before the assassination attempt.
Fennell was still rattled that her son saw the 20-year-old shooter seconds before he tried to assassinate he former president.
“My son seen him. Within seconds is when the shots started being fired,” Fennell said.
From the air and on the ground, investigators Monday were still processing the crime scene.
Trump, meanwhile, told the New York Post, “I’m not supposed to be here, I’m not supposed to be dead, I’m supposed to be dead.”
He went on to say “the doctor at the hospital said he never saw anything like this, he called it a miracle.”
Regarding the images of a bloody Trump, he said, “A lot of people say it’s the most iconic photo they’ve ever seen. They’re right and I didn’t die. Usually you have to die to have an iconic picture.”
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas spoke to the security shortcomings of that day.
“When I say that something like this cannot happen, we are speaking of a failure. We are going to analyze through an independent review how that occurred, why it occurred, and make recommendations and findings to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
From her deck that overlooks the crime scene, Fennell said she’s shocked no police ever swept her property prior to the rally. However, she said someone in law enforcement used plastic zip ties to close the gap in her chain-linked fence.
Officials said Crooks practiced his shot at a range the day before the shooting. Hours before, officials said, he bought a 5-foot ladder at Home Depot before picking up 50 rounds of ammunition at a local gunshop.
Investigators believe the AR-style rifle Crooks used was his father’s, but they haven’t determined if it was taken without his father’s permission.
His former classmates describe him as a loner.
“He was just very bland, didn’t show no facial expressions, very to himself,” one classmate said.
Fennell said that what’s most upsetting to her is the loss of life.
“I think what is really weighing on me is the family that lost someone that day,” Fennell said.
The company that owns the building where the shooter shimmied his way up onto the roof is closed at the moment. The Pennsylvania State Police told 7News it had no comment on what the department did to prepare before Trump’s arrival in Butler.
Investigators were expected to be back on the scene Tuesday.
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