Gunman pointed rifle at Butler police officer before firing on Trump, local official says
A Butler Township, Pennsylvania, official is pushing back on criticisms after a gunman tried to assassinate Donald Trump at a campaign rally on Saturday.
BUTLER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — In the days since a gunman tried to assassinate Donald Trump, a township in rural Pennsylvania has received a barrage of hate mail and angry phone calls blaming its officers for failing to keep the former president safe.
Now Butler Township Manager Tom Knights is pushing back. “They couldn’t be more wrong,” he said in an interview Tuesday.
Despite the dozens of local, state and federal law enforcement officers on the scene, Knights said it was four Butler Township officers assigned to traffic duty who bolted from their post and raced to confront the gunman, with one clinging to the roof where the would-be assassin was perched.
“Our officers acted instinctively, did their job, followed the training that they had,” Knights told NBC News.
The gunman, Thomas Crooks, 20, opened fire minutes into Trump’s speech, injuring the former president’s ear, killing one person in the crowd and injuring two others.
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