A police sniper may have saved lives by shooting and knocking down the rifle of Donald Trump’s potential assassin, according to an investigation.
According to a report by Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins, the sniper’s bullet damaged Thomas Matthew Crooks’ weapon and knocked him off target after he fired his first shots in Butler, Pennsylvania. Moments later, he was killed by a Secret Service sniper.
The report comes as the Secret Service is temporarily assigning some of President Joe Biden’s bodyguards to Trump, according to US media.
Trump will also be equipped with bulletproof glass so that he can hold outdoor rallies again.
The former president was unprotected at his July 13 rally in Butler when a bullet hit him nearly in the head.
Mr Higgins’ report said a SWAT officer from Butler was the first to fire at Trump’s killer – from a distance of 90 metres.
The congressman said the sniper “ran toward the threat and ran into a clear firing position directly into the line of fire.”
He then fired a single shot at the shooter, hitting part of his rifle, the report said.
This temporarily knocked the gunman out of his position, but “after just a few seconds” he “jumped back up” before being fatally shot by a Secret Service sniper.
During the attack, the thugs killed one member of the crowd and seriously injured two others.
Since then, security measures around the former president have been tightened.
The transfer of the Secret Service agents was due to threats against 78-year-old Trump and was made possible by Mr Biden’s reduced travel schedule after he dropped out of the campaign, according to a report in the New York Times.
The newly assigned officers were responsible for either traveling with Mr Biden or going ahead of him to set up security at an event, a source told the newspaper.
Kimberly Cheatle, Director of the Secret Service, resigned on July 23 after a hearing in the US House of Representatives on the assassination attempt.
Politicians on the House Oversight Committee criticized the lack of information in their answers to questions about security planning and how officials responded to reports of the gunman’s suspicious behavior before the shooting.
The gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper team after firing eight shots at Trump from a rooftop just outside the rally’s security perimeter.
The FBI is currently investigating the security gap and the political leadership of the US Congress has also launched an investigation.
