An eyewitness to Donald Trump’s shooting at a campaign rally has hit out at the Secret Service for taking too long to act.
The former President had been just 10 minutes into a speech in Butler, Pennsylvania, when the event was interrupted by several gunshots.
As shots rang out at around 6.13pm, Trump appeared to clutch his face before being pushed to the floor by a swarm of Secret Service agents.
But despite the protective pile-on, a witness to events - labelled by some as a pivotal moment in this year’s election campaign - has come forward to describe just what he saw.
Eyewitness claims he was 'pointing at’ Donald Trump gunman for MINUTES before shootingBBC/REUTERS/GETTY IMAGES/TRUMP CAMPAIGN OFFICE/HANDOUTThe witness, who gave his name as Greg, said that he and friends had been having a “party” near the venue, and though the group were not inside, they had ventured closer to the campaign stage to hear Trump’s address.
Greg said that after an estimated “five to seven minutes of Trump speaking”, he had seen a man “bear-crawling up the roof of a building” a mere 50 feet away from him.
Greg and his group could “clearly” see the man was holding a rifle - and though they were trying to point him out to police on the ground below, the witness claimed cops “had no idea what was going on”.
As the man crawled closer, Greg said he remembered questioning why Trump hadn’t yet been pulled off the stage - all the while, Secret Service officers had been looking at him and his friends, not the alleged assailant.
The witness, who gave his name as Greg, said that he and friends had been having a “party” near the venue
BBC
Then, describing the moment which has shaken the US, Greg simply said: “Five shots rang out”.
When pushed by reporters on how sure he was that the gunshots came from the man he’d seen, the eyewitness said: “100 per cent”.
Greg expressed his incredulity that authorities had been looking at him and his friends pointing at the man - rather than the man himself - but acknowledged that the slope on the building’s roof likely made it difficult to see just what they’d been signalling.
But the witness questioned why Secret Service officers weren’t on all of the roofs surrounding the venue - a “small place”, as he put it.
Eventually, the alleged shooter was taken out by authorities, Greg, adding that the Secret Service “blew his head off”.
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GETTY IMAGES/TRUMP CAMPAIGN OFFICE/HANDOUT
Donald Trump assassination attempt: Where was the shooter?GETTY IMAGESThe witness said that he was “absolutely” sure that officers got their man, and described how they then crawled up onto the roof to surround the suspect and “make sure that he was dead”.
Again raising concerns over the apparent lapse in security, Greg told the BBC: “If I walked up there with anything the Secret Service considered a problem, I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you right now.
“But I don’t know why a guy, who we’ve pointed out to police and secret service, is crawling up the roof.
“My question is… There’s only a few buildings around here - why is the Secret Service not on every roof?”
In the wake of the attack, both expected election challengers, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, have condemned the shooting.
In a statement shortly after the shocking events, Biden said there was “no place for this kind of violence in America” and said he was praying for his predecessor in office.
Trump wrote: “It is incredible that such an act can take place in our Country,” and after confirming he had been shot, said “GOD BLESS AMERICA!”.