A task force report on the July 2024 attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, credited Sgt. Aaron Zaliponi of the Adams Township Emergency Service Unit SWAT team with firing a key shot before a Secret Service counter-sniper killed Thomas Crooks, according to the New York Post’s account of the report.
What the report described
The report on the incident said Zaliponi’s round struck Crooks’ gunstock and shattered it, “causing an explosion of shrapnel [which] smashed into Crooks’ right neck and jaw area,” and that the shot “set up the delayed but successful kill shot by a Secret Service counter-sniper.” The panel also found Crooks did not fire again after being hit and that about 10 seconds elapsed before a Secret Service sniper killed him.
What Sgt. Zaliponi told investigators
Zaliponi told the task force, “I knew I hit him… I have combat experience. His demeanor… there was that jerking motion… he kind of jerked down to my left, his right. Then he slowly rolled like he just had no strength, whatever.”
Family alleges federal agencies minimized his role
The New York Post reported that federal agencies “erased” Zaliponi’s efforts. Kim Geyer, Zaliponi’s mother-in-law, said, “The shot neutralized Thomas Crooks. It prevented a mass shooting. He saved a lot of lives that day.” She added that there was “over a 10-second pause” before a Secret Service sniper “took Thomas Crooks down,” and claimed local police “were thrown under the bus by the Secret Service and the FBI.”
Geyer argued that federal agencies did not want local heroes: “As far as the FBI and the Secret Service go, nobody wanted to take this into account. They just wanted the narrative to be that Thomas Crooks was killed and the threat was eliminated. The Secret Service wanted the credit, that after massive security failures they got their act together and took this guy out.” She also said of the Secret Service sniper, “He deserves credit. He was doing his job and protecting the president.”
Public recognition from NRA and Pennsylvania’s AG
The National Rifle Association awarded Zaliponi its 2025 “Officer of the Year,” stating, “President Donald J. Trump’s life was saved by an armed American in Butler, Pennsylvania. Thanks to swift action by law enforcement officers like Sgt. Aaron Zaliponi, an even greater tragedy was prevented.”
According to WTAE-TV, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday presented Zaliponi with the “In the Face of Danger Award” last year. Sunday told the crowd that when gunfire erupted from a rooftop, Zaliponi “immediately recognized the threat” and, “in less than six seconds after the first shot was fired from 115 yards away, Sgt. Zaliponi acquired his target and fired a single accurate round, stopping the threat.”
What remains in dispute
The New York Post’s reporting and Geyer’s comments contend the FBI and Secret Service downplayed or omitted Zaliponi’s role. We have not independently reviewed the federal reports referenced here. The task force report quotes and timing described above are drawn from the source material’s summary.
