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USSS Did Not Fire First Shot at Crooks, Preliminary Investigative Report Finds

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  August 22, 2024 9:30 AM

The Secret Service counter sniper who neutralized Thomas Matthew Crooks on July 13 did not fire the first shot against the would-be assassin. According to a preliminary investigative report from Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), a local SWAT operator first “stopped Crooks” and damaged his firearm.

The 9th shot fired on J13 was from a Butler SWAT operator from the ground about 100 yards away from the AGR building. Shot 9 hit Crooks’ rifle stock and fragged his face/neck/right shoulder area from the stock breaking up. The SWAT operator who took this shot was a total badass; when he had sighted the shooter Crooks as a mostly obscured by foliage moving target on the AGR rooftop, he immediately left his assigned post and ran towards the threat, running to a clear shot position directly into the line of fire while Crooks was firing 8 rounds. On his own, this ESU SWAT operator took a very hard shot, one shot. He stopped Crooks and importantly, I believe the shot damaged the buffer tube on Crooks’ AR. I won’t be certain of this until I can examine Crooks’ rifle, but I’m 99% sure, based upon reliable eye-witness ESU tactical officers who observed Crooks’ rifle before the FBI harvested it as evidence. This means that if his AR buffer tube was damaged, Crooks’ rifle wouldn’t 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, I believe, final) shot was fired from the southern counter-sniper team. (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. 

There are videos on the internet showing a dark figure or a shadow on the water tower on J13. If there had been someone on that tower on J13, it would have to have been some top-shelf operator way  beyond anything I’ve ever actually seen. Regular SWAT operators or snipers would not have the skills and gear to quickly overcome the first 25 feet of no ladder and then climb the remaining 75 feet to the catwalk, and then climb the quite intimidating and precarious dome vent access ladder. It is true that the vent area at the very top of the water tower is the only point that would have allowed a clear line of sight to both Trump and Crooks’ firing position. I sighted out this fact very carefully during my hours on the ground at the Butler Farm/AGR/ water tower crime scene area. However, I do not believe it was possible for a “2nd shooter” sniper to be on top of that water tower on J13, nor have I seen any evidence that supports the theory of a 2nd shooter. I’m not saying conclusively that there was no other shooter somewhere or that no other conspirators were involved in J13, but I’m saying that based on my investigation thus far, there were 10 shots fired on J13, and all shots are accounted for, and all shots align with their source. (Preliminary Investigative Report)

Higgins is a member of the House task force investigating the July 13 attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and traveled to the site of the Butler, Pennsylvania, rally where local officials helped him recreate what happened that day from the law enforcement perspective and Crooks'.