Trump countersnipers' chilling text messages before assassination attempt reveal how gunman was one step ahead of Secret Service and local law enforcement

A series of bombshell text messages from countersnipers who were supposed to protect Donald Trump at the Pennsylvania rally where an assassin's bullet nearly killed the president showed them a step behind the gunman. 

A massive inquiry has started in the wake of the attempt, which Trump miraculously survived, with the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle coming soon after the July 13 shooting.

Now, it appears a group chat of those meant to protect Trump were aware that gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was in their midst over 90 minutes before Trump was shot at, rather than an hour as the FBI had previously claimed. 

When one of the three countersnipers was about to call off at the end of their shift at around 4:26pm, they noticed a man who they later confirmed to be Crooks sitting on a picnic table.

'Guys I am out. Be safe,' he wrote. 'Someone followed our lead and snuck in and parked by our cars just so you know. I'm just letting you know because you see me go out with my rifle and put it in my car so he knows you guys are up there,' he wrote.

He added that Crooks was 'sitting to the direct right on a picnic table about 50 yards from the exit' in a message sent at 4:27pm, a little over 90 minutes before the gunman fired.

The two other counter-snipers responded with a thumbs up emoji and a 'Roger that' according to the texts, which were obtained by the New York Times from local law enforcement. 

Another screenshot is timed at around 5:38pm, after Crooks left the picnic table and was beneath the countersnipers, who had perched themselves in a warehouse.

One of the two remaining snipers photographed Crooks multiple times and texted the pictures to the group chat. 

'Kid learning around building we are in,' one wrote. 'I did see him with a range finder looking towards stage. FYI. If you wanna notify SS snipers to look out. I lost sight of him.' 

Witnesses reported having seen Crooks crawling onto the roof of the American Glass Research building.

At 5:40pm, the other countersnipers tells them to call in the report of Crooks. Within the next half hour, the gunman would be dead and Trump would be photograph with blood coming from the area around his ear.

Crooks, was captured in a chilling video lurking near the former president's rally stage just an hour before he unleashed a hail of bullets. 

The disturbing footage, shot by someone in the crowd, appears to show the 20-year-old gunman stalking around a building he would climb 60 minutes later in order to get the perfect vantage point from which to target Trump. 

In the harrowing clip, obtained by local station WTAE, Crooks does not appear to be holding the AR-style rifle he used to shoot Trump through the ear at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

The cameraman said he had been trying to capture the large crowd waiting to watch the Republican nominee speak, but later realized he had caught a more terrifying detail in the background.

The footage was revealed amid a series of stunning developments Wednesday that raise more questions about the massive security failure that led to the attempt on Trump's life and claimed the life of a local firefighter who died protecting his family from the gunfire.  

It emerged the gunman's' father called police on the day of the shooting because Crooks didn't return from what he thought was a routine Saturday trip to the local gun range. 

And it was revealed Crooks was at the former president's rally three hours before opening fire, even sparking the suspicions of the Secret Service during that time because he was carrying a rangefinder used by hunters to take long shots.

But he was never stopped or questioned.

He later climbed onto the roof of the building he was lurking near, shot Trump and killed retired volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore.

Crooks had told his boss he needed the day off from work Saturday and gave colleagues a final chilling message: That he would be back on Sunday. 

The gunman searched online 'how far' Lee Harvey Oswald was from John F. Kennedy when he shot him, FBI Director Christopher Wray revealed in stunning testimony to Congress earlier this week.

FBI Director Christopher Wray also told lawmakers the 20-year-old gunman flew a drone 200 yards from the stage just two hours before he opened fire in Butler, Pennsylvania, and had three explosives in his car. 

The bombshell revelations from the bureau's chief give more insight into Crooks' preparation before he shot the former president, including his online research on the sniper that took out JFK in 1963.

Wray said Crooks had been 'interested in public figures' and  'somewhere around July 6 or so he became very focused on former President Trump and his rally.'

The director said an analysis of Crooks' laptop revealed he had searched on Google on July 6 'how far away was Oswald from Kennedy.' It was the same day he registered to attend the Butler rally. 

Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed former President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The Warren Commission report that analyzed the Kennedy assassination assessed that Kennedy had been shot through the neck at a range of 174.9 feet to 190.8 feet.

Crooks was flying a drone above the rally site two hours before the shooting and just 200 yards away from the stage, Wray has also revealed.

Wray made the bombshell revelation to Congress on Wednesday during a grilling by lawmakers on the investigation into the assassination attempt on the former president and the massive security failures.

Trump managed to survive the attempt on his life during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania and was quickly bundled off stage by the Secret Service.

The FBI’s assessment continues to be that Crooks, who was killed by a Secret Service counter sniper, acted alone.

On Tuesday, Kimberly Cheatle resigned as the agency’s director amid mounting questions over her the colossal security failures at the rally.

Cheatle took responsibility for the catastrophic lapses after she was lambasted by Republicans and Democrats alike when she appeared before Congress on Monday. 

In a staggering moment, Cheatle admitted on Monday her agents on the ground were warned between two and five times that there was a 'suspicious person' reported before Trump took the stage.

The security chief had faced mounting questions over why an agent was not stationed on the roof from where Crooks opened fire on the former president, and why Trump was allowed to take the stage even when a threat was detected.

Crooks had been identified as a suspicious person hours before the shooting took place.

The security chief had faced mounting questions over why an agent was not stationed on the roof from where gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on the former president, and why Trump was allowed to take the stage even when a threat was detected.

She had also been ridiculed for suggesting her agency did not have a presence on the roof because it was 'sloped.' 

Wray said Crooks used mechanical equipment on the ground and vertical piping, to hoist himself up onto the roof of a squat manufacturing building that was within 135 meters (157 yards) of the stage.

He fired eight shots from an AR-style rifle before he was killed.

While Trump walked around with little more than a bloody ear, Crooks killed former fire chief Corey Comperatore, 50, and critically injured two other rally goers sitting close to where the former president was speaking last weekend before he was neutralized. 

Cheatle has taken blame for the fateful security breach, but has denied calls to step down. 

'The buck stops with me,' she said.

'It was unacceptable,' she told ABC. 'And it's something that shouldn't happen again.'

Trump has defended a 'brave' female Secret Service agent who 'shielded' him during his attempted assassination after she was attacked by online trolls.

The former president praised the female agent and said she 'wanted to take a bullet' under fire after critics suggested that women were not qualified for such positions.

Also coming into question on the call was the possible motive for Crooks to commit such an atrocity.

Officials did not confirm an operating motive and said that his rationale remains a mystery. 

Authorities said that they have yet to find any ideological material that could shine light on why Crooks decided to shoot the former president.