The Butler County SWAT operator who shot at would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks and effectively ended his assault on the July 13 Donald Trump rally in Western Pennsylvania has been identified as Sgt. Aaron M. Zaliponi of the Adams Township Police Department.
The revelation was made in Washington, D.C., by U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) during the first hearing of the House Task Force on the Attempted Assassination of Donald J. Trump.
According to testimony at the hearing, Zaliponi quickly acquired Crooks in the sight of his M4 rifle while Crooks was firing his AR-15 at Trump and the rally crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Zaliponi fired what became known as shot No. 9, which knocked Crooks down and prevented him from resuming his attack before a U.S. Secret Service counter-sniper fired a fatal shot to the head.
