{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The shooting that killed the man who tried to assassinate former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last Saturday was a “one-in-a-million shot,” according to a source familiar with the shooting investigation.
Fox News learned from the source that the fatal shot was a single shot fired by a Secret Service sniper whose vision was obscured.
A local tactical team also attempted to shoot the alleged assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, but missed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Secret Service sniper who killed Crooks could only see Crooks’s scope, the top of his eye, and his forehead because the ledge of the roof blocked the sniper’s view.
TRUMP: TIMELINE OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT RAISE QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW SHOOTER ESCAPED SECURITY SERVICES
A sniper who shot Thomas Matthew Cooks, who attempted to assassinate former President Trump on July 13, 2024, killed him with a single bullet in a “one-in-a-million” shot. The snipers pictured did not fire the fatal shot. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
The source described the shooting to Fox News as a “one in a million shot.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The news comes as more details begin to emerge about the botched security that allowed Crooks to climb a building, gain a clear line of sight on Trump and open fire on the former president.
While the Secret Service agents who stopped the shooter and jumped to protect Trump are being praised, the agency’s director, Kimberly Cheatle, has been harshly criticized for her handling of the case.
FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT QUESTIONS WHY TRUMP WAS ALLOWED TO TAKE STAGE AMID THREAT CONCERNS: ‘WHY NOT DELAY?’
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has come under fire and will face tough questions about the security breach at the rally. (Kamil Krzaczynski /AFP via Getty Images)
The House Oversight and Accountability Committee has scheduled a hearing Monday with Cheatle, who is facing calls from lawmakers to resign over his agency’s handling of the shooting at the Trump rally.
The hearing, titled “Security Surveillance and the Attempted Assassination of President Donald J. Trump,” is scheduled to begin on Capitol Hill at 10 a.m. Monday.
PENNSYLVANIA SHERIFF DEFENDS LOCAL OFFICERS WHO CONFRONTED TRUMP SHOOTER AT RALLY
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former President Trump, Republican presidential candidate, reacts as several gunshots ring out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
Cheatle refuses to resign, but House Speaker Mike Johnson told FOX Business on Thursday that he is prepared to ask President Biden to fire her.
“Continuity of operations is paramount during a critical incident, and Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has no intention of resigning. She has deep respect for members of Congress and is fiercely committed to transparency in the conduct of the Secret Service during the internal investigation and to strengthening the agency through the lessons learned from these important internal and external assessments,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement released Wednesday evening.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Cheatle faced senators demanding answers when she appeared at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.
Greg Norman of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
