A new report says the gunman who shot and injured former President Donald Trump fired eight shots in just under six seconds before being killed by a Secret Service sniper.
While Secret Service agents have been praised for quickly neutralizing the threat against Trump, Thomas Matthew Crooks had enough time to fire multiple shots at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, slicing the former president’s ear, killing one heroic firefighter, and wounding two other attendees.
A total of 10 gunshots were heard in the confusion, with Crooks firing eight of them in succession in a 5.2 second span. According to a CBS News analysis.
The rate of fire is consistent with the AR-15-style rifle used by Crooks, according to audio experts Rob Maher of Montana State University and Steven Beck of Beck Audio Forensics.
The analysis provided a detailed analysis of Crooks’ shooting and the response, and suggested that after the gunman shot Trump in the ear, the second bullet struck Marine Corps veteran David Duch, who was lying on the floor of the auditorium.
Another injured rally attendee, James Copenhaver, appears to have been shot sometime during the later stages of the shooting.
Audio and video analysis suggests that the final two shots were fired by the Secret Service’s anti-sniper team, who opened fire from two locations in an attempt to stop Crooks, the first of which was fired within half a second of Crooks’ eighth shot.
Crooks stopped firing after the ninth shot, which experts believe confirmed the bullets struck him. The tenth and final shot was fired 10 seconds later, likely a coup de grace by a Secret Service sniper to ensure Crooks’ death.
The analysis did not say when former fire chief Cory Comperatore, who was shielding his wife and daughter from the gunfire, was fatally wounded.
Law enforcement officials previously confirmed that Crooks fired eight rounds at Trump and his supporters, and Pennsylvania State Police Col. Christopher Parris told a congressional committee on Tuesday that eight shell casings were recovered from the suspect’s location.
The shooting has become the focus of multiple law enforcement and government investigations into how Crooks managed to get onto a roof within 130 yards of Trump and have a clear view of the former president.
The fallout from this security failure ultimately led to the resignation of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Tuesday.
