Photo of Trump shooter's bike left at rally as expert questions why 'flying squad' wasn't mobilized

Thomas Matthew Crooks rode a bike through Donald Trump's rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania, law enforcement sources told The New York Post. (The New York Post)

A lone bike cloaked by a tree's shade near a Pennsylvania manufacturing facility is a haunting reminder of a gunman's hail of gunfire that nearly assassinated a former president.

The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks , rode the bicycle to Donald Trump's rally in Butler and ditched it before he opened fire from a roof about 150 yards from where the former president spoke to the crowd of thousands on Saturday, The New York Post reported.

Crooks left the bike behind in plain sight before he climbed to his perch and unfurled a flurry of gunshots that killed a local hero, who shielded his family, nicked Trump's ear and wounded two others. 

A witness first noticed the bicycle around 5:30 p.m. on July 13 – about 42 minutes before the shooting – according to The Post. The security misstep has at least one expert believing "someone was asleep at the switch."

Paul Mauro, an attorney and retired NYPD inspector who has been involved in several multi-agency security coordination efforts during his career, said a "flying squad" should have nabbed Crooks well before he pulled the trigger.