Trump Gunman Flew Drone Around Rally Site: Report

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The crazed gunman who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump last week during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, was reportedly able to fly a drone and obtain aerial footage of the fairgrounds just before the former president spoke on stage.

Law enforcement officials revealed the striking development on Friday.

The FBI identified the gunman as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20.

Crooks reportedly flew the drone on a programmed flight path hours before the former president took the stage in Butler on July 13, per officials.

The preplanned path shows that Crooks flew the drone multiple times as he researched and analyzed the area.

Crooks fired at least six gunshots from the roof of the American Glass Research building that was about 130 years away from the podium where the former president spoke.

Trump’s right ear was pierced by Crooks’ bullet while one rallygoer was killed and two others were injured.

Just seconds after the former president was struck, a Secret Service sniper fatally shot Crooks.

It is unclear why Crooks shot Trump.

Investigations are ongoing as to how a gunman was able to climb onto the roof of a building with a clear line of sight at the former president and open fire.

Law enforcement personnel had grown suspect of Crooks over an hour before the event. Officers had seen the 20-year-old moving around the rally with a range finder and a backpack.

Officials said the use of the drone was just one way in which Crooks planned his attack.

The 20-year-old was described by his friends as intelligent but a loner.

Crooks researched the site just days after the Trump campaign announced the rally on July 3. He registered for the event four days later.

Crooks visited the site of the rally a few days later to analyze it.

On July 13, the 20-year-old returned to the site with a pair of homemade bombs that seemed to be designed to be set off by remote control since they were fitted with a receiver like those used to remotely launch fireworks.

Investigators found the explosives in Crooks’ vehicle, which was parked near the rally site. They also stumbled across a ballistic carrier or vest and three, 30-round magazines in it, indicating that the 20-year-old might have wanted to wreak more havoc.

In recent months, multiple packages labeled with “hazardous materials” were sent to Crooks’ home.

The 20-year-old made several online searches for dates of Trump rallies and also for the Democratic Party’s upcoming convention in August, prompting a mystery as to the ideology that Crooks ascribed to.

While speaking at the RNC, the former president recalled the tragic events of July 13.

“You’ll never hear it from me a second time because it’s too painful to tell,” Trump said.

“The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved my head at that very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark, and I would not be here tonight. We would not be together,” he recalled.