A suspect has been detained, Sunday, in Palm Beach, Florida, after an assassination attempt on former president and 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump, according Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.
The suspect, later identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, was hiding in a shrubbery about 270 to 460 meters away, while the former president played golf on a nearby hole, at the Trump International Golf Course in Palm Beach. That’s more than twice the distance of Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old gunman involved in the July 13 attempt to assassinate Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
A Secret Service agent walking on the golf course a hole ahead of where Trump was playing Sunday, spotted Routh's rifle sticking out of the chainlink fence and immediately opened fire, Bradshaw said. The agent reportedly fired four to six rounds.
As Routh fled the scene of the incident, a witness took a picture of his vehicle and license plate number, and later provided it to law enforcement officers. The suspect was later stopped by authorities and arrested. He was found with two backpacks and a GoPro camera.
According to Bradshaw, the gunman had an AK-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks hanging on a fence and a GoPro camera. Ceramic tile was also found in the backpack. The rifle was recovered from the bushes outside the golf course.
Trump was unharmed, and the FBI said in a statement, the incident "appears to be an attempted assassination."
Photos released by the Martin County Sheriff's Office show a stopped vehicle on I-95 moments after shots were fired in the vicinity of the Trump International Golf Club.
Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder said the suspect was apprehended within minutes of the FBI, Secret Service and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office putting out a “very urgent BOLO” -- or “be on the lookout” alert detailing the specific vehicle sought, license plate number and occupant description.
Snyder said his deputies “immediately flooded” northbound I-95, deploying to every exit between the Palm Beach County line to the south and St. Lucie County line to the north.
Sunday's assassination attempt is now being investigated by the FBI.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that his state will conduct its own investigation into the incident. "The State of Florida will be conducting its own investigation regarding the attempted assassination at Trump International Golf Club," DeSantis wrote in a post on X. "The people deserve the truth about the would be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the former president and current GOP nominee."
Meanwhile, the task force on the July 13 attempted assassination of Trump said Sunday, it is monitoring what authorities confirm was a second assassination attempt on the Republican presidential candidate and have requested a briefing with the U.S. Secret Service.
Chairman Mike Kelly(R-Pa), and Jason Crow(D-Colo), released a joint statement Sunday.
"The Task Force is monitoring this attempted assassination of former President Trump in West Palm Beach this afternoon,” the joint statement said. “We have requested a briefing with the U.S. Secret Service about what happened and how security responded. We are thankful that the former President was not harmed, but remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in all of its forms. The Task Force will share updates as we learn more."
“There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” Trump said in statement following the shooting. “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER! I will always love you for supporting me.”
President Joe Biden said he had been briefed on Sunday's incident and the federal investigation into the matter.
“A suspect is in custody, and I commend the work of the Secret Service and their law enforcement partners for their vigilance and their efforts to keep the former President and those around him safe,” Biden said in a statement, adding that he was “relieved' the Republican presidential candidate was “unharmed.”
“There is an active investigation into this incident as law enforcement gathers more details about what happened,” Biden, who has been condemned for his vitriolic rhetoric against Trump, said. “As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety.”
Just hours following Sunday's assassination attempt on Trump, videos surfaced online of Routh, an apparently known militant far-left activist, advocating for military support for Ukraine in the country's ongoing war against Russia. He claimed in one video, he has fought in the front lines of the war, and is recruiting volunteers.
A background check on the name Ryan Wesley Routh, revealed that he currently lives in Democrat-run Hawaii and has faced dozens of run-ins with police, stretching back to at least the 1990s. He has also donated to the Democrat party.
Routh’s son Oran, woke far-leftist himself, told Daily Mail that his father hates Trump like “all reasonable people,” adding, “I don't like Trump either.”
“This was the first I heard about it,” he said of Sunday's attempted assassination on Trump by his father. “He's my dad and all he's had is couple traffic tickets, as far as I know. I know my dad and love my dad, but that's nothing like him... He said he was at the beach, but I thought that meant the outer banks in Hawaii.”
