Gunman flew drone over venue hours before attempted assassination, source says

The gunman who shot former President Donald Trump in the ear at a Pennsylvania rally 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 camera drone made by DJI allowed 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks to get an overhead view that maybe 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 gunman to nearly kill the former president.

It’s common for federal authorities to ban drones over areas they are securing, although it’s unclear if that happened with the Butler rally.

It’s unclear how investigators learned about the drone flight, but drones often leave electronic traces of their flight paths, and DJI may have had a record of the flight.

A drone and drone equipment were recovered from Crooks’ vehicle, a senior law enforcement source said.

Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi did not respond to specific questions regarding drone flight rules for such an event, but he did say the agency would help investigators get to the bottom of what happened.

“The Secret Service is fully accountable for the safety of its protectees,” he said. “We are committed to better understanding what happened before, during and after the assassination attempt to former President Trump to ensure it never happens again. That includes complete cooperation with Congress, the FBI and other relevant investigations.”

A motive in the attempt to kill Trump remains unknown and under investigation.

The Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General has launched three probes 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 pledged a congressional investigation, and Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has been asked to appear before the House Oversight Committee at a Monday hearing.