Chilling images of how close shooter got to Trump - and what was hidden by the bushes

Extraordinary new pictures and video obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com show just how breathtakingly close Trump shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, got to his target.

Crooks, 20, came within inches of killing President Trump Saturday, as the former president addressed supporters during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Chillingly some images show a ladder, hidden by dense shrubbery, propped against the side of the AGR building, leading directly to the rooftop across which witnesses later told law enforcement they saw Crooks scramble. 

The images of the strategically placed ladder have emerged as Secret Service admit they did not sweep the building where the shooter took his position, but instead entrusted that role to local law enforcement officers. 

In the days since, Secret Service has come under intense scrutiny for what has been described as its most stunning security failure in decades.

Now, these compelling images hammer home the handful of yards – barely 150 - that stood between the former president and his would-be assassin.

Crooks had parked his vehicle near the rally site in Butler on Saturday before he scaled the roof of a nearby industrial manufacturing building. 

Federal agents could be seen inspecting the ladder which, from the ground, would be all but invisible.

From his elevated vantage point, almost as close to the president as the secret service snipers there to protect him, Crooks had a clear and unimpaired line of fire and, armed with his father’s AR-15 rifle, he took his shot.

A chance turn of Trump’s head, not the swift response of those snipers, is what made the difference between a grazing glance of the bullet Crooks fired and a fatal shot.

Yesterday the debris of the abandoned rally was clearly visible in Butler’s fairgrounds. 

Overturned chairs and a trash strewn field spread out below an enormous American flag, strung between two cranes, high above the stage on which Trump spoke.

Police cars lined the perimeter to the fairgrounds with large stretches of highway closed to through traffic while law enforcement investigates the scene of what represents the most serious attempt to kill a president since Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981.

Fifty-year-old father of two and volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore has been named as the audience member who died trying to shield his family from the gunfire that broke through the Saturday afternoon.

Two other audience members who were hit, 57-year-old David Dutch and 74-year-old James Copenhaver were both in stable condition on Sunday.

Crooks was killed by USSS seconds after opening fire on the former president and presumed Republican presidential nominee. 

Roughly an hour away from the rally site, at Crook’s family home in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park there is a similar scene – a neighborhood in lock down with police vehicles and fire trucks blocking roads, closed to all but residents within a three-block radius.

Near neighbors were asked to leave their homes as it was reported that explosives and other items were removed from both Crooks van and his family home.

The would-be assassin was a registered Republican and 2022 high school graduate. 

Records show Crooks donated on the day of the 2020 inauguration to a progressive group backing President Joe Biden. 

Images of Crooks wearing glasses, braces, and an American flag t-shirt in a yearbook headshots emerged on Sunday morning.

Bethel Park School District, where Crooks was a student until two years ago, verified his graduation from the high school and is cooperating with investigators.

Disturbing anecdotes have since emerged from those who knew Crooks going back to his days at the school. 

Crooks tried out for the school's rifle team but was turned away because he was a bad shooter, said Frederick Mach, a current captain of the team who was a few years behind Crooks at the school.

Jonathan Myers, a member of the team around the time Crooks auditioned, said there was something ominous about him back then. 

Crooks was a dietary aide at Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center - where he provided food and care for post-hospital elderly and sick people.

His employer confirmed on Sunday that he had a clean background check and 'performed his job without concern' before he attempted to kill Trump.

Investigators have found no threatening comments on social media accounts or ideological positions that could help explain what led him to target Trump.

Top Republicans and Democrats have demanded an urgent investigation into the shooting, with suggestions that routine checks would have eliminated all threats.

In a damning statement on Saturday night, FBI Special Agent Kevin Rojek said it was 'surprising' Crooks managed to fire off so many shots.