Joe McConnell
A police sniper potentially saved lives by shooting Donald Trump’s would-be assassin’s rifle, killing him, an investigation says.
According to a report by Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins, the sniper’s bullet damaged Thomas Matthew Crooks’s gun and disrupted his aim after he fired his first shots in Butler, Pennsylvania. Moments later, a Secret Service sniper killed him.
The report comes as the Secret Service is temporarily reassigning some of President Joe Biden’s bodyguards to Trump, US media reported.
Trump will also be protected by bulletproof glass to allow him to film outdoor rallies.
The former president was not afforded adequate protection during his July 13 rally in Butler, when a bullet nearly hit him in the head.
According to Mr. Higgins’ report, a Butler SWAT officer was the first to shoot Trump’s assassin, from a distance of 100 yards.
The deputy said the sniper “ran toward the threat, reaching a clear shooting position, directly in the line of fire.”
Then, with a single shot, he shot the gunman, hitting part of his rifle, the report says.
This temporarily knocked the gunman from his position, but, “after only a few seconds”, he “got back on his feet” before being fatally shot by an intelligence sniper.
In the attack, the robbers killed one member of the crowd and seriously injured two others.
Security levels around the former president have since increased.
New records achieved by ABC News detail internal discussions among local authorities about planned security on the day of the assassination attempt, with the Butler County sheriff noting the “circus” and large crowds the demonstration would bring. The minutes also include text messages showing frustration among local authorities after the shooting.
Local authorities discussed the intelligence service’s request for a sniper and surveillance support, along with counterattack teams and a rapid reaction force.
In an email obtained by ABC News and addressed to the Butler County District Attorney, Sergeant Edward Lenz of the Adams Township Police Department explains that they planned to send two snipers, a quick reaction force and two mobile counterattack teams.
The counterattack teams “will respond to and address a direct attack on the presidential candidate inside the venue, whether it is a coordinated attack with multiple attackers or a single attacker,” he wrote.
He said the rapid reaction force would intervene in the event of “high-risk incidents occurring outside the headquarters”.
The documents were released after Secret Service agents were relocated following threats against Mr Trump, 78. The move was made possible by Mr Biden’s reduced travel schedule after he dropped out of the race, according to a New York Times report.
The reassigned officers were tasked with traveling with or preceding Biden to set up security at an event, a source told the newspaper.
Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service, discharged on July 23 following a hearing in the United States House of Representatives on the attempted assassination.
House Oversight Committee policymakers criticized the lack of information in his responses to questions about security planning and how officers responded to reports of the gunman’s suspicious behavior before the shooting.
Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was fatally shot by a Secret Service sniper team after firing eight bullets in Trump’s direction from a rooftop just outside the rally’s security perimeter.
The FBI is currently investigating the lack of protection, and political leaders in the United States Congress have also launched investigations.
