Some things should be known, as in completely understood. This is especially true when something important runs counter to government or media narratives. How the life of a former—and now current—president was saved is one such thing. This is not just because it is of great import, but also because it undoes the narratives often used against our Second Amendment freedom (the truth has a way of doing that); it exposes how an assassin was able to get so close to a president and, especially in this case, the true story highlights something vital, yet fragile, in our national character that we must celebrate as one fans a fire in need of oxygen.
Anyone who has been paying attention can visualize the scene at the Butler Farm Show Grounds in Pennsylvania on the afternoon of July 13, 2024, just after President Donald Trump was shot in the ear. We’ve all seen the video, or at least an image, of Trump with his right fist raised to the audience and, with blood visible on his face and ear and an American flag behind him, shouting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
This powerful gesture became the iconic image of the campaign—perhaps even one of the most iconic in American political history.
What many still don’t know, however, is this scene of triumph over tragedy (tragedy in both what might have happened and in that Corey Comperatore, a former volunteer fire chief and father of two seated behind Trump, was murdered) would not have been possible without the actions of Sergeant Aaron Zaliponi of the Adams Township Police Department.
Zaliponi is the Alpha Team Leader of the Butler County Emergency Service Unit. His mission for that day was to be the counter-assault team leader for the local unit. He grew up hunting deer and small game with his father and brothers in western Pennsylvania. He served in the infantry in the Army National Guard for 14 years (1998 to 2012) and was deployed to combat zones three times. He came home to serve in blue. He is a part of the American fabric of service and responsibility. Like so many Americans, guns to him are tools for self-defense and sport.
On this day, he had an AR-15 he’d built strapped to his chest. This kept his hands free as he surveyed the outdoor rally and commanded his team.
At 6:09 p.m., his team was notified about a man on top of one of the agricultural buildings. There were communications issues that day in the U.S. Secret Service-run security apparatus, but Zaliponi and his team were aware that this individual had already been spotted as a potential problem several times. So, when this alert reached Zaliponi, his team deployed toward the building.
Zaliponi, however, held his position.
Moments later, the first shots echoed over the rally and Zaliponi saw officers scrambling to respond.
At the fourth gunshot, Zaliponi looked at the top of the building and saw a man lying in a prone position at the apex of the roof. He had not seen this man pop up onto the roof, as this individual had hopped between roofs and then crawled into this position. All Zaliponi could see was the man’s head and part of his upper chest. The assassin then fired a fifth, sixth, and seventh shot.
But within two seconds of the fourth shot, Zaliponi brought his rifle to his shoulder and acquired the gunman in his rifle’s red-dot optic. He says he saw the gas following the bullet as the murderer’s eighth shot flew toward the stage.
Zaliponi’s red-dot optic—an EOTech EXPS3—was not magnified and he was 115 yards away from the killer. Still, he had trained for this offhand shot as a hunter, in the military and as a police officer. Video shows that less than 6 seconds after the assassin’s first shot, Zaliponi fired his only shot, which was the ninth shot of the incident.
Immediately after Sgt. Zaliponi fired, he observed the gunman on the roof jerk and then slowly slump over his rifle as he slid away down the backside of the roof.
Zaliponi kept his rifle on target to fire a follow-up shot, although, at this point, he could only see a small portion of the suspect’s head. But, just as he was about to fire his second shot—and now about 16 seconds after the murderer’s first shot—a U.S. Secret Service counter-sniper fired a round that struck the suspect’s head. Zaliponi gave the Secret Service sniper team a thumbs up and said, “Good hit, good hit!”
The would-be assassin never fired another round once Zaliponi fired his. An NRA Benefactor Member and NRA Certified Law Enforcement Patrol Rifle Instructor, Zaliponi likely saved the life of President Trump.
For these reasons, the NRA has selected him as the 2025 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.
“The only thing, and I told the one victim’s wife when I finally got to meet her, is that I am sorry I did not see him sooner,” said Zaliponi.
When asked about his rifle, he said, “A lot of guys go out and buy these expensive rifles, but I built this rifle with a PSA Guardsman-15 10.3-inch upper. I am hoping to get it back soon. It was taken as part of the federal investigation. They said I’d get it back in about two years and it has been nearly two years now.”
Zaliponi was too busy responding to calls for help near the stage to watch Trump raise his fist or to hear him say “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Afterward, Zaliponi did not seek attention for making the shot that stopped the assassin. Glen Hoyer, director of the NRA’s Law Enforcement Division, heard about what Zaliponi had done in law-enforcement circles and investigated. He then approached Zaliponi and said the NRA would like to give him its annual award. Zaliponi was reluctant, as he says he just did his job. He does not want to be called a “hero.”
In that chaotic moment, though, he kept his composure while so many others were losing theirs, and he used his training to protect and serve; in fact, Zaliponi’s actions displayed a part of the American national character that the media often misses or dismisses, as it runs deeper than their narratives. The culture cultivated from our right to keep and bear arms is part of what grows heroes-in-waiting like Zaliponi.
He does not want to be called a hero, but there was no doubt those in the audience at the NRA Annual Meetings thought him exactly that, as they stood to cheer him receiving this award.
“I’m a believer in God,” said Zaliponi when asked what had been missed in the interview for this article. “I truly believe He held me in that location. I stayed there. All my guys were going toward the gunshots. I was alone in the middle of that field in between [that killer] and Trump and I didn’t move. It was like my feet were locked in place and it wasn’t until after [the murderer] was down that my feet were able move again.”
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