A video has emerged from the Pennsylvania Trump rally showing the moment that counter snipers engaged the person who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump.
The counter-snipers were positioned on a roof behind where Trump was speaking.
One of the snipers appears to look up from his rifle as shots rang out. The counter-sniper then appears to engage and respond.
An eyewitness told the BBC that they could see the shooter crawling on another nearby roof and alerted police and the Secret Service before Trump was shot.
“He had a rifle,” the witness said. “We could clearly see him with a rifle. Absolutely. We’re pointing at them. The police are down there running around on the ground. We’re like, hey, man, this guy on the roof with a rifle. And the police were like, huh? What? You know, like they didn’t know what was going on, you know, we’re like, hey, right here on the roof, we can see him from right here. We see him, you know, he’s crawling!”
The witness continued, “Next thing you know, I’m like, I’m thinking to myself, I’m like, why is Trump still speaking? Why have they not pulled him off the stage? I’m standing there pointing at him for, you know, two or three minutes. Secret Service is looking at us from the top of the barn. I’m pointing at that roof, just standing there like this. And next thing you know, five shots ring out.”
Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger has confirmed that two people are dead, including the apparent shooter. The other is a man who was in the stands behind Trump.
Trump was shot in the ear and transported to a medical facility. He has since been released.
The shooter has not been formally identified at the time of publishing.