Experienced Snipers Break Down The Trump Assassination Attempt
Two veteran snipers and a retired Secret Service agent give us their takes on how these security operations are conducted and what may have gone so wrong.
HOWARD ALTMAN
POSTED ON JUL 16, 2024 7:58 PM EDT
Experienced snipers break down how U.S. Secret Service counter-snipers handled the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
Many questions are being asked in the aftermath of the July 13 assassination attempt on Donald Trump at the fairgrounds in Butler, Pennsylvania. Among them are how the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) counter-sniper (CS) teams reacted before and after Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, fired shots from the roof of a building less than 450 feet from where Trump was speaking. Those shots killed a man, bloodied Trump, and wounded at least two others.
The War Zone asked three experts – two experienced snipers and one former USSS Special Agent in Charge – to give their perspectives, breaking down how these operations work and what they observed about how CS teams handled what would become the first time a USSS sniper ever actually killed anyone.
Jeff Bruggeman
For 18 years, Jeff Bruggeman was a sniper for the Fairfax City SWAT team. He spent many hours working with the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), often staring through high-powered Leupold scopes on his custom-built bolt-action .308 sniper rifle scanning for potential dangers. He did this during visits by presidents and candidates, as well as while providing overwatch during several inaugurations.
https://www.twz.com/news-features/experienced-snipers-break-down-the-trump-assassination-attempt
