>>21313373 Trump countersnipers' chilling text messages before assassination attempt reveal shocking truthPN
Trump countersnipers' chilling text messages before assassination attempt reveal how gunman was one step ahead of Secret Service and local law enforcement=
Texts show countersnipers aware of gunman long before previously thought
They even had photos of 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks circulating
A series of bombshell text messages from countersnipers who were supposed to protect Donald Trump at the Pennsylvania rally where an assassin's bullet nearly killed the president showed them a step behind the gunman.
A massive inquiry has started in the wake of the attempt, which Trump miraculously survived, with the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle coming soon after the July 13 shooting.
Now, it appears a group chat of those meant to protect Trump were aware that gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was in their midst over 90 minutes before Trump was shot at, rather than an hour as the FBI had previously claimed.
When one of the three countersnipers was about to call offat the end of their shift at around 4:26pm, they noticed a man who they later confirmed to be Crooks sitting on a picnic table.
'Guys I am out. Be safe,' he wrote.'Someone followed our lead and snuck in and parked by our cars just so you know. I'm just letting you know becauseyou see me go out with my rifle and put it in my car so he knows you guys are up there,' he wrote.
When one of the three countersnipers was about to call off at the end of their shift at around 4:26pm, they noticed a man who they later confirmed to be Crooks sitting on a picnic table
He added that Crooks was 'sitting to the direct right on a picnic tableabout 50 yards from the exit' in a message sent at 4:27pm, a little over 90 minutes before the gunman fired.
The two other counter-snipers responded with a thumbs up emoji and a 'Roger that' according to the texts, which were obtained by the New York Timesfrom local law enforcement.
Another screenshot is timed at around 5:38pm, afterCrooks left the picnic table and was beneath the countersnipers,who had perched themselves in a warehouse.
One of the two remainingsnipers photographed Crooks multiple timesand texted the pictures to the group chat.
'Kid learning around building we are in,' one wrote. 'I did see him with a range finder looking towards stage. FYI. If you wanna notify SS snipers to look out. I lost sight of him.'
Witnesses reported having seen Crooks crawling onto the roof of the American Glass Research building.
At 5:40pm, the other countersnipers tells them to call in the report of Crooks. Within the next half hour, the gunman would be dead and Trump would be photograph with blood coming from the area around his ear.
Crooks, was capturedin a chilling videolurking near the former president's rally stage just an hourbefore he unleashed a hail of bullets.
The disturbing footage, shot by someone in the crowd, appears to show the 20-year-old gunman stalking around a building he would climb 60 minutes later in order to get the perfect vantage point from which to target Trump.
In the harrowing clip, obtained by local station WTAE, Crooks does not appear to be holding the AR-style rifle he used to shoot Trump through the ear at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
The cameraman said he had been trying to capture the large crowd waiting to watch the Republican nominee speak, but later realized he had caught a more terrifying detail in the background.
The footage was revealed amid a series of stunning developments Wednesday that raise more questions about the massive security failure that led to the attempt on Trump's life and claimed the life of a local firefighter who died protecting his family from the gunfire.
It emerged the gunman's' father called police on the day of the shooting because Crooks didn't return from what he thought was a routine Saturday trip to the local gun range.
And it was revealed Crooks was at the former president's rally three hours before opening fire, even sparking the suspicions of the Secret Service during that time because he was carrying a rangefinder used by hunters to take long shots.
But he was never stopped or questioned.
He later climbed onto the roof of the building he was lurking near, shot Trump and killed retired volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13682279/Trump-countersnipers-chilling-text-messages-assassination-attempt-gunman-one-step.html