New details have emerged on the Secret Service counter sniper who was able to neutralize would-be presidential assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks with a “one in a million” shot immediately after the gunman opened fire.
Citing a source who had been briefed on the investigation, Fox News confirmed previous reports that a third weapon was fired during the attempt on former President Trump’s life.
“A source familiar with the investigation tells me that, look, it took a single shot to kill the would-be assassin Thomas Crooks. And that shot came from a Secret Service counter-sniper that the source says he described the shot as a one-in-a-million type of shot,” said Fox News correspondent Bryan Llenas. “The counter-sniper could only see the top of the scope, his eye, and forehead because the lip of the AGR building that Crooks was on was obscuring that view.”
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The source further confirmed that a third weapon was fired when a local police counter sniper team also took a shot at Crooks, which missed. Audio experts had previously contended that a third weapon had been fired.
“Federal law enforcement sources tell Fox that while Crooks snuck up on that roof, a Butler Township Emergency Services unit sniper team was looking out of the windows of that same building watching for any suspicious activity.”
Investigators have disclosed that Crooks purchased a five-foot ladder from a local Home Depot, as well as 50 rounds of ammunition from a local gun shop, before making his way to the rally venue with an AR-15 DPMS rifle that was owned by his father.
It is believed that Crooks hid the weapon behind an air-conditioning unit that he used to climb onto the roof of the building. It is also possible that Crooks hid the weapon in his backpack — which he was observed wearing roughly an hour prior to the shooting — though this would require a sizable amount of time for disassembly and reassembly.
Investigators have stated that Crooks was initially viewed as a “person of interest” when he was seen lurking around the grounds before the rally began.
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Once he climbed onto the roof, Crooks he was identified as an “elevated threat.” He was confronted by a local police officer who was holding onto the roof with two hands after being hoisted up by his colleagues. Once he pulled himself up and peered over the roof, Crooks aimed his rifle at the officers, prompting the officer to drop roughly eight feet down.
The local officers then announced over a radio channel that they had encountered an armed suspect on the roof.
Now, Fox News has confirmed that Crooks was neutralized by a Secret Service counter sniper located in an elevated position to the right of the former president’s podium. The sniper can be seen peering down his scope before briefly taking his eyes off to confirm his target.
Once Crooks opened fire, he was dropped with a single shot.
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