Trump shooter likely hid AR-15 behind AC unit, USSS sniper took one shot

There are now two working theories on how Thomas Crooks got a DPMS AR-15 rifle onto the roof of the AGR building in Butler, Pennsylvania last Saturday without being noticed prior to an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, who's now the 2024 Republican presidential nominee. 

According to a federal law enforcement source briefed on the investigation, Crooks either hid his father’s rifle near the AC unit he used to climb up onto the roof of the AGR building, or he had it in the backpack he was spotted with, along with the golf range finder.

Thomas Matthew Crooks is pictured in front of the Butler Fairgrounds in the aftermath of the attempted assassination of the former president on July 14, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania.  (Bethel Park School District/Getty Images)

However, this source said hiding the rifle in his backpack would require a significant amount of disassembling and reassembling the rifle, and that the more likely scenario is that Crooks hid the rifle behind the AC unit.