On Sunday afternoon, a gunman spotted on the golf course in Martin County, Florida, opened fire at an AK-style rifle
In a news conference on Sunday, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the Secret Service alerted local authorities about multiple gunshots at the course around 1:30 pm ET.
According to Bradshaw, a Secret Service agent who was stationed one hole ahead of Trump spotted an AK-style rifle sticking out of a fence at the golf course. The agent “immediately engaged” with the person holding the rifle. That’s when the gunman took off in a black Nissan. A spokesperson for the Secret Service said agents opened fire at the individual.
At the time of Sunday’s encounter, Trump was one or two holes away — “probably between [300] and 500 yards” from the suspect’s location, Bradshaw said. He said that it is not a long distance with a rifle and a scope.
A witness was able to provide authorities with the suspect’s car model and license plate, according to Bradshaw. The officer who identified the man on I-95 was from Martin County. The suspect is being held.
The First White House Statement: “I AM SAFE AND WELL,” a Democrat Activist reportedly told the New Hampshire Congressional Select Committee
“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!” The statement was sent out by Trump’s campaign.
Lindsey Graham said on X that he spoke with Donald Trump after the shooting and that the former president was in good spirits.
Local officials said the whole golf course would have been surrounded if it had been a sitting president. The bushes surrounding the golf course made detection harder for a presidential nominee.
“The threat level is high, and we have increased the amount of assets,” said Rafael Barros, Special Agent in Charge of the Miami Field Office. He added, “We live in dangerous times.”
“They are relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team,” the statement said. Attorney General Garland is keeping an eye on the situation, his office said.
The FBI uncovered a possible assassination attempt of the former president Donald Trump at a West Palm Beach golf course on Sunday afternoon
On Sunday, the FBI said that former president Donald Trump was targeted in what appeared to be an attempted assassination. A man seen holding a rifle at a Trump golf club in West Palm Beach is in custody after he was identified as Ryan Routh.
Former President Donald Trump is safe after shots were fired at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Fla., while Trump was golfing there on Sunday afternoon.
The president said that Ronald L. Rowe Jr., the acting head of the Secret Service, “is in Florida today, assessing what happened and determining whether any further adjustments need to be made to ensure the safety of our former president.”
The President condemned political violence in an event on Monday, but said the ballot box, not a gun, is how America resolves differences.
Trump’s opponent in the 2024 presidential race, Vice President Kamala Harris, condemned political violence, saying on Sunday that she was “deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt of former President Trump today.”
Federal Election Commission records show Routh donated to the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue nearly 20 times, in amounts ranging from $1 to $25, between September 2019 and March 2020.
Routh has an extended criminal history, including a conviction on a felony charge of possessing a weapon of mass destruction in 2002, reportedly related to a fully automatic machine gun. Public records list him as the defendant in multiple court cases, on matters from bad checks to tax delinquencies. Between 2001 and 2010, he was also charged with numerous misdemeanors.
In North Carolina, Routh spent his formative years before moving to Hawaii. He builds tiny homes and portable storage units in Hawaii. Routh’s digital footprint shows he is a supporter of the war against Russia.
The license-plate reader system indicated that the vehicle was travelling north on I-95. The sheriff’s office in that county then pulled the Nissan SUV over around 2:14 p.m. and arrested Routh after the witness identified him as the suspect from the golf course, according to court records. Routh, 58, allegedly said that he knew why he was being pulled over; he was booked into the county jail.
Bradshaw says law enforcement then got a big break: “Fortunately, we were able to locate a witness that came to us and said, ‘Hey, I saw the guy running out of the bushes. He jumped into a black Nissan and I took a picture of the vehicle and the tag’ — which was great.”
The Hunting of a Black Hole in the Golf Course Environment: The Apparent Assassination Attack on Donald J. Routh
Photos from the scene depict what looks to be an improvised sniper’s nest, with backpacks hung next to each other on the fence with a space in between them. The placement of ceramic tiles suggests the suspect likely intended them to provide armor against any incoming gunfire.
The center adds that an SKS-style gun was used in two high-profile attacks in the past decade: one at a baseball field where members of Congress played in 2017; and another at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado in 2015. The attack on a congressional baseball game practice in Alexandria, Virginia, left five people wounded, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and Capitol Police officers.
The weapon was identified as an SKS-style rifle — its design slightly predates the AK-47 — according to the criminal complaint against Routh. Both guns have the same 39mm rounds, and both were used in the Vietnam War, according to the Violence Policy Center.
The suspect’s AK-47-style rifle, two backpacks and a camera were all found in the bushes, Bradshaw said, noting that the suspect was intent on filming what happened.
While Bradshaw predicted Trump’s future golf outings might draw more security, he also commended the Secret Service’s actions, stating, “They provided exactly what the protection should have been and their agent did a fantastic job.”
The weapon was spotted in an area of the golf course where three holes — 5, 6 and 7 — turn a corner close to an intersection where two large roads meet: S. Congress Ave. and Summit Blvd.
Dave Aronberg, state attorney for Palm Beach County, said on Sunday that after Routh was taken into custody, prosecutors filed warrants to ensure he remained in custody.
According to the criminal complaint, Routh’s cellphone provider had provided data showing that he had been in the vicinity of the golf course encounter for almost 12 hours.
Routh had a federal public defender, but he told the judge he didn’t have enough money to pay his defense. He wore a blue prison jumpsuit, and stated that he has a son.
Source: Here’s everything we know about the apparent assassination attempt on Trump
The incident in which Donald Trump was shot in the foot of a golf ball by a scalar shot on the target of the International Golf Course
The incident began when the former president was playing at the Trump International golf course and ended when Routh’s vehicle was spotted on I-95. Two months after he was wounded, Trump was hurt in a shooting in Pennsylvania.