Agreed. It looks like it could be used as a ladder. There’s an A/C unit right below it.
Some news articles say Crooks is believed to have gotten onto the roof by climbing onto an A/C unit.
Some news articles even say he might’ve hid the rifle behind the A/C unit.
If all that is true, then he picked up the rifle and climbed onto the roof - right in front of the window where the counter-snipers were supposed to be?
Amazing — but not in a good way.