BBC Interviews Man Who Says He Warned Police About Trump Rally Shooter

A witness just outside of Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania rally on Saturday claims that he warned police that the person who shot at Trump was on top of a nearby building.

In an interview with the BBC after the incident, the witness, Greg Smith, said he saw the shooter “bear-crawling up the roof of the building beside us” with a rifle.

“We’re pointing at him. The police are down there, running around on the ground. We’re like, ‘Hey man, there’s a guy on the roof with a rifle’… and the police did not know what was going on,” Smith said.

“I’m thinking to myself, ‘Why is Trump still speaking? Why have they not pulled him off the stage?’” he continued. “I’m standing there pointing at him for, you know, two to three minutes… next thing you know, five shots ring out.”

Smith also wondered why the Secret Service wasn’t on all the roofs surrounding the rally, which took place in Butler, telling the BBC, “This is not a big place. [It’s a] security failure, 100% security failure.”

The Secret Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump sustained an injury to his right ear in the shooting; after the attack, the Secret Service shared that he was safe and seeking medical attention.

Secret Service personnel killed the shooter, identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, at the scene. The FBI declared the attack an assassination attempt during a briefing on Saturday.