USSS didn't fire 1st shot at Trump shooter according to preliminary investigation

The Secret Service counter-sniper who neutralized Thomas Matthew Crooks on July 13 did not fire the first shot at the would-be assassin. According to a preliminary investigative report from Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), it was a local SWAT operator who initially "stopped Crooks" and damaged his firearm. In related news, the USSS female team member was able to eventually reinsert her firearm into her holster.

The ninth shot fired on July 13 came from a Butler SWAT operator positioned on the ground approximately 100 yards away from the AGR building. This shot struck Crooks' rifle stock, causing it to break apart and fragment, impacting his face, neck, and right shoulder area.

The SWAT sniper who took this shot was a "Billy Badass" kind of guy: when he spotted the shooter, Crooks, mostly obscured by foliage on the AGR rooftop, he immediately abandoned his assigned post. He ran towards the threat, positioning himself directly in the line of fire to get a clear shot, even as Crooks was firing eight rounds. This ESU SWAT operator took a very tough shot and stopped Crooks. More importantly, it's possible this shot damaged the buffer tube on Crooks' rifle.

While the effect of the first shot is not yet a fact, based on reliable eye-witness ESU officers who observed the failed assassin's AR before it was taken into evidence by the FBI, the buffer tube was indeed damaged. If so, his weapon would not fire after his 8th shot.

Crooks “went down” from his firing position when shot 9 was fired, and the SWAT officer was certain of his hit. According to the ESU SWAT operator, Crooks recovered after just a few seconds, and “popped back up”.

The 10th and final shot was fired from the southern counter-sniper team, according to Clay Higgins. (Preliminary Investigative Report.)

Higgins, an Army veteran and former law enforcement officer, also dispelled theories that a second shooter was on a nearby water tower.

So while the USSS would like to take credit for stopping Crooks, they were not the ones who did.

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