The first shot to hit Thomas Crooks, the gunman who attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, was fired by a ” total badass” local SWAT operator, Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) confirmed in his recently released preliminary investigative report.

The Washington Post first reported that a local officer had fired the first shot against Crooks on July 30.

The 20-year-old gunman fired eight rounds, hitting Trump in the ear, critically injuring two rallygoers, and tragically killing retired fire chief Corey Comperatore.

Higgins revealed in his report that as soon as the officer, an Emergency Service Unit (ESU) SWAT operator, saw Crooks—moving and obscured by foliage—on the American Glass Research (AGR) building’s rooftop, he “immediately left his assigned post and ran towards the threat, running to a clear shot position directly into the line of fire.”

As part of his investigation, Rep. Higgins interviewed eyewitnesses in Butler County and examined how Crooks was able to climb onto the roof. The Louisiana lawmaker said he was “greatly assisted” by local officials, including the Butler County ESU team commander and a top official with the Butler County District Attorney’s office.

“Those gentlemen had nothing to hide, and they were 100 percent accommodating despite my rather intense demands on their time and resources due to the compressed schedule I was working with,” the congressman wrote in his report.

Higgins, himself, is a former police officer who maintains an active law enforcement commission as a reserve officer with the Louisiana attorney general’s office.

He confirmed earlier reports that Crooks had accessed the roof by climbing onto an air conditioning unit. “I reenacted his climb with no problem,” Higgins said.

The SWAT operator fired his shot (#9) from about 100 yards away, “hit[ting] Crooks’ rifle stock and frag[ging] his face/neck/right shoulder area from the stock breaking up,” Higgins reported. “He stopped Crooks and importantly, I believe the shot damaged the buffer tube on Crooks’ AR.”

Higgins said that Crooks’ AR rifle was likely disabled after the buffer tube was damaged, but he couldn’t be sure because the FBI seized the rifle as evidence.

“On his own, this ESU SWAT operator took a very hard shot, one shot,” said Higgins. “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 percent 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.”

The ESU SWAT operator told the congressman that Crooks “went down” from his firing position when this shot was fired, but after a few seconds, he “popped back up.”

A US Secret Service counter-sniper then fired the tenth shot, killing Crooks, Higgins said.

The 10th (and, I believe, final) shot was fired from the southern counter-sniper team. I will not be 100% certain of this until further investigation. However, I am quite sure that the USSS southern
counter-sniper team fired the killing shot, which, according to my investigation, entered somewhere around the left mouth area and exited the right ear area. Instant over. This entry-exit aligns with USSS southern counter-sniper team position.

U.S. Secret Service snipers  spotted Crooks on the roof of the building a full 20 minutes before he began shooting, FBI Director Christopher Wray, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate, and Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle told House members in an unclassified briefing, last month. But for whatever reason, they didn’t take a shot until the local law enforcement officer had disabled the gunman.

Higgins said his assessment of the local law enforcement’s overall performance on July 13 was that “the ESU was very professionally deployed and commanded.”

Yes, it was quite chaotic, and every single police officer reflects upon dangerous and extreme engagements, and we universally critique our own performance because crazy things happen on the street. However, my professional assessment for the purposes of this preliminary investigative report is that the Butler County ESU performed quite well under the circumstances.

He gave a less glowing assessment of the FBI’s performance following the assassination attempt.

Higgins said local officials were all surprised and dismayed that the FBI released the crime scene after just three days, meaning local law enforcement were forced to relinquish control over the crime scene in that short time period.

“I interviewed several First Responders who expressed everything from surprise to dismay to suspicion regarding the fact that the FBI released the crime scene so early after J13,” Higgins said. “It should be noted that the FBI was fully aware of the fact that Congress would be investigating J13. The FBI does not exist in a vacuum. They had to know that releasing the J13 crime scene would injure the immediate observations of any following investigation.”

Higgins also noted in his report that the FBI immediately cleaned up biological evidence from the crime scene, which he said “is unheard of.”

“Cops don’t do that, ever,” the former law enforcement officer stressed.

Higgins recounted how his effort to examine Crooks’ body on Monday, August 5, “caused quite a stir” because he discovered the “disturbing fact” that the FBI released the body for cremation just ten days after July 13.

“On J23, Crooks was gone,” Higgins said. “Nobody knew this until Monday, August 5, including the County Coroner, law enforcement, Sheriff, etc. Yes, Butler County Coroner technically had legal authority over the body, but I spoke with the Coroner, and he would have never released Crooks’ body to the family for cremation or burial without specific permission from the FBI.”

The Louisiana Republican said the FBI’s behavior looked like obstruction of congressional oversight.

“Again, similar to releasing the crime scene and scrubbing crime scene biological evidence, this action [releasing Crooks’ body to be cremated] by the FBI can only be described by any reasonable man as an obstruction to any following investigative effort,” Higgins wrote in his report, noting that on July 23, “the day that Crooks was cremated, both the Homeland Security Committee and the Oversight Committee had begun House Committee jurisdictional investigation into J13, and Speaker Johnson had already stated that he was forming an Official Congressional investigative body.”

He added: “Why, then, by what measure, would the FBI release his body to the family for cremation? This pattern of investigative scorched earth by the FBI is quite troubling.”

The congressman also found the U.S. Secret Service’s behavior puzzling, explaining that they don’t normally deploy sniper teams to political rallies.

“According to my investigation, USSS had never, prior to J13, assigned a counter-sniper team to a former POTUS, including Trump,” he said, adding, “I will not be 100 percent certain of this assertion without further investigation into documented records, but USSS counter-sniper teams stated clearly to ESU Command that they had never been deployed to a former POTUS event, nor had they heard of a prior deployment by other USSS counter-sniper teams.”

A glaring issue that resulted in confusion and uncertainty on July 13, was the lack of radio communication between local law enforcement and the USSS.

This is because, as Higgins revealed in his report, the “USSS did not retrieve the radios that had been set aside for them by Butler County tactical command.”

“The radio comms were properly and perfectly arranged during the extensive pre-mission planning,” the congressman said. “On J12, the Butler County ESU Commander personally reminded the USSS counter-sniper teams to pick up their assigned radios at the ESU Command Post RV, which was positioned according to planning at the Butler Fairgrounds, the following morning before 1100 hrs. It didn’t happen.”

Higgins also probed a couple of theories about a second shooter, either on top of a water tower overlooking the fairgrounds, or inside the AGR building.

“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,” Higgins wrote. “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.”

Higgins said he did not believe it was possible for a second shooter to have been on top of the water tower and that he did not find any evidence supporting that theory. He also stated that all 10 shots heard that day were accounted for, with eight coming from Crooks, one from a local SWAT officer, and one from the Secret Service sniper team.

The Louisiana lawmaker also looked into videos circulating on the internet that appeared to show a “muzzle flash” inside the building, seen from a window below Crooks’ firing position.

“I carefully examined this window inside and out, and I interviewed the AGR employee who has worked in that small office area for many years,” Higgins said. “That window does not open and has never opened. The “muzzle flash” from inside that window was either a digital fabrication or an iPhone light or iPhone camera flash reflected from the glass of the widow.”

Higgins said he was also looking into a pressurized hydraulic line on a staged piece of heavy equipment that one of Crooks’ bullets hit. If the hydraulic hose had burst, hydraulic fluid could have sprayed out onto the crowd, resulting in burns, infections, and in some cases, amputations and even death.

“My effort to examine the hydraulic line evidence revealed that the tractor belonged to a rental company,” Higgins said. “It is unknown if that hydraulic line was harvested properly as evidence by the FBI, but it certainly should have been,” he added. “It remains a question for further investigation. I need to examine that hydraulic line because confirmation of the caliber of the rifle projectile that hit the line would be helpful to our investigation. That’s how the examination of evidence works; we have to look at everything.”

The congressman stressed that he will continue investigating and “every question will be answered, every theory explored, and every doubt erased.” Higgins noted that he had not yet investigated Crooks’ mysterious origins, “how he came to be a shooter, how he manufactured a remote trigger bomb, etc.”

“I have not reviewed the harvested evidence, nor have I examined his home, his vehicle, spoken with his family, his neighbors, his classmates, examined his computer, his emails, or his closet. I have not investigated the life and actions of Thomas Matthew Crooks outside of his actions on J13. But I will. We will,” he promised.

“The American people deserve the full truth on the attempted assassination of President Trump,” Higgins said in a statement. “Our investigative efforts are moving forward in good faith. The release of my preliminary investigative report is reflective of my desire to deliver transparency and reassurance to the American people.”

Higgins sent his report to Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), the chairman of the House task force.