The gunman who shot former President Donald Trump in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday flew a drone over the rally site a few hours before Trump took the stage, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The DJI-made drone camera allowed 20-year-old gunman Thomas Crooks a bird’s-eye view that may have helped him plan his attack, the source said.
Trump was shot in the ear in the assassination attempt and Crooks was killed by the Secret Service after the attack at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that Crooks used the drone.
The aerial surveillance appears to be another in a series of security failures that allowed the shooter to almost kill the former president.
It is common for the Secret Service to ban drones in areas they are protecting, although it is unclear whether this happened with Butler’s rally.
It’s unclear how investigators learned of the drone’s flight, but drones often leave electronic trails of their flight paths, and DJI may have had a record of the flight.
A drone and drone equipment were recovered from Crook’s vehicle, a senior police source said.
The motive for the attempt to kill Trump remains unknown and under investigation.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General launched three probes to the Secret Service after the shooting, including one that examined how the Secret Service secured the political campaign event in Butler.
House Speaker Mike Johnson also promised a congressional investigation, and Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was invited to appear before the House Oversight Committee at a hearing on Monday.
Phil Helsel, Tom Winter, Andrew Blankstein It is Jonathan Dienst contributed.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
