Milen Ivanov in front of FACTS: A headshot means the shooter aimed to kill Trump (VIDEO)

The FBI was able to identify the suspect in the attempted assassination of Trump. This is 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was killed after the shooting. Former US President Donald Trump narrowly escaped death after a sniper shot him during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, while he was giving a speech at the podium. One of the bullets missed his head by millimeters, striking his right ear and causing profuse bleeding. Fortunately, he was not seriously injured, his headquarters and security services said. Who acts how in such a situation… In front of FACTS, Assoc. Milen Ivanov, former vice-rector of the Academy of the Ministry of the Interior.

- Mr. Ivanov, we witnessed an assassination attempt against Donald Trump. How do you see the situation in which the shot happened?
- Such a situation is not unusual for the United States – to have attacks on presidents and presidential candidates. It has happened many times in American political reality.

- But not in our time, we are talking about recent years…
"Actually, we just don't know because there are rumors that there have been several averted attacks on Trump so far, and now we've seen a live attack." This is an extremely dangerous phenomenon.

- Will this somehow change the distribution of forces in the pre-election struggle?
- We will monitor this, but at least some 5-10% will give to Trump's electorate, which for the American political reality means that he is an almost certain president.

- Trump became a “martyr”. This is clear to everyone because the words “…survived an attack” they simply cannot be contested?
- That's right, but the media also caught the wave well. There is media control that has already almost made Trump the real president of the United States. But let's wait, because there is enough time until the elections, and there may be other assassins.

- How do you see the reaction of the “Secret Service”. We hear a gunshot, Trump ducks, then what happens…
- The reaction of the “Secret Service “ is very adequate. You cover the guarded person with your body. This is the first job of the security guards, and we see this in the photos, in the video files - how they surrounded him, even raising their hands to cover his head. Extremely professional response.

- Why don't they bring him out, knocked down to the ground…
- Keep in mind that Trump himself is quite a healthy person, large. In this situation, he shows political sense, so to speak, he has the political sense to exploit the situation. He knows very well that his appearance is being photographed by everyone and this is a good time to play it. Also keep in mind that security guards can hardly cope with guarding a person in a well-defined situation that develops in seconds.

- You mean the moment Trump shook his fist over the heads of the guards. He was between two or three of the guards…
- Rather, it was between three or four and he succeeded.

- But isn't this a risk, because the shooter is still there and can wait for another convenient moment?
- This is a risk, of course, because the shooter can wait for a second moment, and there can be a second shooter. But, keep in mind that this is the reaction of the guarding person and, realistically speaking, it is very difficult to predict what will happen in this situation. In such a situation, the guard takes into account what the guarded person is doing. And something else. What we see is the innermost perimeter around the security face. There are several perimeters around him that are currently responding according to protocol. This reaction of the guards is completely professional and normal.

- Trump what he is instructed to do if he finds himself in such a situation. What are the directions for it?
- The main instruction is to leave it in the hands of the guards. She knows what to do, how to get him out, where to get him out, etc. These things are protocol, they are clear, they are standard, they are played by protocol. In this case, the most important thing is that the guarded person does not interfere. Everything else is protocol. Except, of course, political propaganda, which Trump did at his peril.

- They announced that the shooter was 20 years old and was killed…
- It was his youth that most likely prevented him from making the right shot. In principle, at such a distance, because we are talking about 137 meters here, it is elementary, for which you do not even need an optical sight. The “AP15“ (note – the civilian version of the “M16“, which has a straight shot at 400 meters), with which it was shot, is accurate up to 340-400 m. Thus, a target at 137 meters can be shot down even with an open sight effectively. The shooter was aiming for Trump's head, which is his mistake. Basically, the body is shot because the size of the body, if we consider it as a target, is much larger than that of the head. Considering that Trump was most likely wearing a bulletproof vest, the shooter took the risk of shooting him in the head. And this means that the shooter aimed to kill Trump. Literally a centimeter saves Trump .

- So bad luck for the shooter and pure luck for Trump …
- Absolutely.

- What will Trump's bodyguards do from here on in his next public appearances?
- Everything depends on Trump. There will certainly be increased security especially on the outer perimeter, because in this situation, I think the local police, who are probably securing the outermost perimeter, have slept through the situation. Somewhere word got out that the police had been informed of a man on the roof because, if we looked at the topography of the area, the only tall building that someone could stand to shoot from was the one where the shooter was. Everything else around the event itself is fields. So it is extremely basic that the local police, under the leadership of the “Secret Service”, secure the roof of this tall building. In order not to do this, either there is a breach in the local police, or they were simply incompetent. From now on, security will strengthen the outer perimeter, more forces and resources will be mobilized, and most likely, outdoor demonstrations will be reduced, where the situation cannot be 100% controlled. A hall can be checked, the perimeter can be cordoned off effectively enough. Whereas with such open spaces as stadiums and squares, things get complicated. The propaganda effect in favor of Trump will certainly increase after this failed assassination attempt.

VIDEO HERE.