The gunman who shot former President Donald Trump in the ear at a Pennsylvania rally on Saturday flew a drone over the rally site hours before Trump took the stage, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The camera drone made by DJI gave Thomas Crooks, a 20-year-old gunman, 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 was first to report that Crooks had used the drone.
The aerial surveillance appears to be another in a series of security failures that allowed the shooter to nearly kill the former president.
It is common for the Secret Service to prohibit drones over areas it secures, although it is unclear whether that happened during Butler’s rally.
It’s unclear how investigators learned of the drone flight, but drones often leave electronic traces of their flight paths, and DJI may have kept a recording of the flight.
A drone and its equipment were recovered from Crook’s vehicle, a senior police source said.
The motive for Trump’s attempted murder remains unknown and under investigation.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General launched three investigations into the Secret Service following the shooting, including one examining how the Secret Service secured the political campaign event in Butler.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has also promised a congressional investigation, and Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has been asked to appear before the House Oversight Committee at a hearing Monday.
Phil Helsel, Tom Winter, Andrew Blankstein And Jonathan Service contributed.
