Text messages reveal how Trump gunman evaded law enforcement: ‘He knows you guys are up there’

New text messages have cast further light on how Donald Trump’s would-be assassin managed to evade law enforcement officers on the day of the shooting – despite revealing that officers had first laid eyes on him more than 100 minutes before he opened fire.

The messages, obtained byThe New York Times, show an iMessage exchange between several officers of the Beaver County Emergency Service Unit, who herald sniper capabilities, in the lead-up to gunman Thomas Crooks’ deadly attack at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

At 4.19pm, one countersniper texted his colleagues that he was done for the day.

“Guys I am out. Be safe,” he wrote, screenshots of the exchange show.

Minutes later at 4.26pm, he sent a follow-up message after spotting a young man – later identified as Crooks – sitting on a picnic table near the warehouse where the sniper team was stationed.

“Someone followed our lead and snuck in and parked by our cars just so you know,” he wrote.

“I’m just letting you know because you see me go out with my rifle and put it in my car so he knows you guys are up there sitting to the direct right on a picnic table about 50 yards from the exit.”

The messages were greeted with a thumbs up emoji at 4.27pm, before another officer said “roger that,” at 4.39pm.

Without knowing his specific identity, Crooks was firmly on the authorities’ radar well beforeTrump took to the stage – and it appears that law enforcement was also on Crooks’ radar too.

The text messages reveal more details about the specific timeline of the attack.

At 5.14pm, one officer took pictures of Crooks on the ground and sent them to the group.

By 5.38pm, just 33 minutes before the shooting, one sniper had “lost sight” of the gunman near the AGR