When the first crack of gunfire echoed through the Butler Farm Show grounds on July 13, 2024, the world stopped. It was 6:11 p.m. Honestly, most people there thought it was firecrackers. Then came the visual: Donald Trump reaching for his ear, diving to the floor, and the Secret Service swarm. Almost immediately, the question on everyone’s lips—from ballistics experts to casual observers—was the same: how far away was the shooter that shot Donald Trump?
The answer is both simpler and more terrifying than the initial chaos suggested.
The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was perched on a slanted rooftop belonging to the AGR International Inc. factory. According to official reports from the FBI and subsequent congressional investigations, the distance between the shooter’s position and the podium where Trump stood was approximately 400 to 450 feet (roughly 120 to 150 meters).
To put that in perspective, that’s about the length of one and a half football fields. It’s close. Incredibly close.
The Logistics of the Distance: A Marksman’s View
In the world of long-range shooting, 150 yards isn't actually "long-range." For a trained marksman, or even a semi-experienced hobbyist with a decent optic, hitting a human-sized target at this distance is basically a fundamental skill.
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U.S. Army recruits are required to hit a silhouette target at 150 meters just to qualify with their service rifle. Crooks was using a DPMS Panther Arms AR-15–style rifle, chambered in 5.56 NATO. It’s a light, high-velocity round. At 410 feet, the bullet’s "drop" is negligible. You point, you click, the bullet gets there in a fraction of a second.
Why the distance mattered
- The Optic: Crooks had a Holosun AEMS red dot sight. While not a high-powered sniper scope, it provided enough clarity for a clear line of sight at 135-ish yards.
- The Wind: At that range, wind drift is minimal unless there's a literal gale. On that July evening, the air was relatively still.
- The Target: Because the shooter was elevated on a roof, he had what's called an "unmitigated line of sight." No trees or bleachers were directly blocking his view of the stage at the moment he fired.
Basically, the distance was short enough that the shooter didn't need to be an expert. He just needed to be steady.
How Close is "Too Close" for Security?
The real controversy isn't just about the math; it’s about the perimeter. The AGR building sat just outside the official Secret Service "secure zone." This meant that while attendees inside the fence went through magnetometers and bag checks, Crooks was able to roam the area around the AGR warehouse with a rangefinder and, eventually, a ladder and a rifle.
People were literally pointing at him. You've probably seen the viral clips of rally-goers shouting, "He’s on the roof!"
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One local officer even climbed up to check out the roof and came face-to-face with Crooks. The shooter pointed the rifle at him, the officer dropped back down for cover, and seconds later, the shots were fired.
The Role of the Counter-Snipers
When we look at how far away was the shooter that shot Donald Trump, we also have to look at the distance of the men who took him down. The Secret Service counter-sniper teams (code-named "Hawkeye") were positioned on the roofs of buildings behind the stage.
They were roughly 150 to 200 yards away from Crooks.
Once the shooting started, it took the counter-snipers approximately 26 seconds to identify, aim, and neutralize the threat. They had to deal with a slightly more complex shot than the gunman because they were looking past the crowd and the stage to find a small target on a distant, sloped roof.
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Misconceptions About the Shot
You’ll hear a lot of "back-of-the-napkin" ballistics online. Some say it was a 500-yard shot. It wasn't. Others claim he was right on top of the stage. He wasn't.
The range was consistently measured by independent analysts using Google Earth and official site surveys at roughly 137 meters. For anyone who has spent time at a shooting range, that's the "middle distance." It’s far enough to feel like a challenge if you’re using iron sights, but with a red dot or a low-power scope, it's a very high-probability shot.
The fact that Trump turned his head at the exact millisecond the trigger was pulled is the only reason the distance didn't result in a much more tragic outcome. A half-inch difference at 400 feet is the difference between a graze and a catastrophe.
What This Means for Future Events
The distance of this shooting changed the Secret Service's "standard" forever. You can bet that the 150-yard "unsecured" zone is a thing of the past.
If you're following the fallout of this event, keep an eye on the "line-of-sight" protocols. The congressional task force found that the biggest failure wasn't just the distance, but the lack of "visual obstruction." If they had just hung a heavy tarp or put a truck in the way, Crooks wouldn't have had the shot, regardless of how far away he was.
Key Takeaways for staying informed:
- Follow the Task Force Reports: The House Committee on the Administration of the Secret Service releases granular data on perimeter sizes.
- Check the Ballistics: Understand that "AR-15 style" rifles are effective up to 500-600 yards; 150 yards is well within their primary "point-blank" range.
- Perimeter Awareness: If you attend large-scale political events, realize that the "safe zone" is often much smaller than the actual "danger zone" for modern ballistics.
Next time you see a map of the Butler site, look for the AGR building. It looks like it's right there. And in terms of a rifle’s reach, it absolutely was.