A police sniper may have saved lives by shooting Donald Trump’s would-be assassin and knocking him to the ground, an investigation has revealed.
According to a report by Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins, a bullet damaged Thomas Matthew Crooks’ gun and disrupted his aim after he fired the first shot in Butler, Pennsylvania. Moments later, a Secret Service sniper killed him.
This report comes as the Secret Service temporarily sent some security guards from President Joe Biden to Trump, according to US media.
Trump will also be given bulletproof glass protection to allow him to resume outdoor gatherings.
The former president had no protection during his July 13 meeting in Butler when a bullet almost hit him in the head.
Mr Higgins’ report said the Butler SWAT operator was the first to shoot Trump’s killer – from 100 yards away.
The congressman said the gunman “ran towards the threat, he ran to a clear position of the gun directly in the line of fire”.
Then, with just one shot, he fired at the gunman and hit half of his gun, the report said.
This temporarily knocked the gunman out of position, but, “seconds later”, he “resurfaced” before being shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.
The robbers killed one member of the mob and seriously injured two others in this incident.
Security levels for the former president have increased since then.
New records were found by ABC News details of the local authorities’ internal discussions about security were planned for the day of the assassination attempt, when the Butler County sheriff realized the “circus” and large crowds that the meeting would bring. The records also include messages showing frustration with local authorities after the shooting.
Local authorities contacted the Secret Service requesting sniper and overwatch support, as well as counter-attack teams and rapid response forces.
In an email obtained by ABC News to the Butler County district attorney, Sgt. Edward Lenz of the Adams Township Police Department details that they plan to assign two shooters, a rapid fire force and two anti-trafficking squads.
The opposition parties would “respond and address attacks directed at the presidential candidate within the area, whether it is a coordinated attack by multiple attackers, or a single attacker”, he wrote.
He said the military would respond immediately to any “dangerous incidents occurring outside the area”.
These records come after the transfer of Secret Service agents amid threats against Trump, 78. The move was made due to a reduction in Mr. Biden’s travel schedule after he withdrew from the election race, according to a report by the New York Times.
The reassigned police are the ones who go with Mr. Biden, or go ahead of him to put in place security measures at the event, said a source of this newspaper.
Kimberly Cheatle, director of the Secret Service, he resigned on 23 July following a hearing in the US House of Representatives regarding the assassination attempt.
Politicians on the House Oversight Committee criticized the lack of information in his answers to their questions about security arrangements and how police responded to reports of suspicious behavior by the gunman before he was shot.
Sniper Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot dead by a Secret Service counter-sniper after he fired eight bullets at Mr.
The FBI is currently investigating the security failure and political leaders in the US Congress have also begun asking questions.
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