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A suspect is in custody following what the FBI says was a disrupted assassination attempt on Donald Trump at one of the former president’s Florida golf resorts on Sunday.
A Secret Service agent opened fire on the suspect after spotting a rifle barrel through the perimeter fence of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. The suspect fled but is now in custody and has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh.
He was charged with two felonies on Monday.
Trump immediately began fundraising off the latest alleged assassination attempt with an email to supporters, reading, “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! Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER! I will always love you for supporting me.”
The investigation remains fluid, according to law enforcement, and details at the moment are sparse. But here’s what we know so far:
What happened?
One agent from Trump’s Secret Service detail was a few holes ahead of where the former president was playing, securing the area, when they spotted a man at the perimeter of the property, armed with a rifle, agency brass said.
The suspect allegedly pushed the muzzle of the rifle through the chainlink fence — and Secret Service fired at him. Trump was just 300-500 yards away, between the sixth and seventh holes.
“The rifle was pointed out, we engaged,” a Secret Service official said at Sunday’s press conference.
The man did not have a direct line of sight to Trump and did not manage to fire any shots at the former president. He was not hit by Secret Service gunfire.
Police responded to the scene shortly after 1:30 pm local time.
An AK-47 assault-style rifle fitted with a scope, two backpacks, and a GoPro camera were recovered near the scene, law enforcement officials said at a press conference following the incident.
However it was later clarified that the gun was an SKS-style rifle. SKS-type rifles are semiautomatic weapons that chamber 7.62mm rounds, a higher caliber than is most often used by AR-style rifles.
A witness told officers he saw a person emerge from the bushes nearby and run into a black Nissan, providing cops with a photo of the vehicle and license plate, officials said. An automated license plate reader flagged the vehicle as it drove along I-95, where the suspect was arrested.
The golf course had been partially closed while Trump played, for security reasons, officials said.
The suspect
The suspect, who has been identified by law enforcement sources as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh of Hawaii, was apprehended minutes after fleeing the scene.
Armed with the suspect’s general location thanks to the license plate reader, deputies “flooded” I-95 in setting up a dragnet, posting up by each exit, according to Martin County Sheriff William Snyder.
Snyder said Sunday that a patrol unit soon spotted the black Nissan and “we set up on the vehicle.”
“We pinched in on the car, got it safely stopped and got the driver in custody,” he said.
Snyder told reporters that the suspect was not armed when officers caught up with him, and that he had maintained a “calm, flat affect” throughout. “He was not displaying a lot of emotions,” Snyder said. “Never asked, ‘What is this about?”
Routh appeared a federal courthouse in West Palm Beach on Monday and was charged with two gun-related counts – possession of a firearm while a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Routh has a criminal record dating back to at least 2002, when he was convicted in Guilford County, North Carolina, on one felony count of possession of a weapon of mass destruction, according to a review of state court records.
A detention hearing has been set for September 23 and an arraignment will take place on September 30.
Neighbors said that they were scared Routh, on account of his large gun collection.
July shooting
This is the second time in two months that Trump has been targeted by a potential assassin.
A small portion of the corner of Trump’s right ear was bloodied in mid-July as the former president spoke to a rally crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania. Several shots from an AR-15 rang out about 15 minutes after Trump took the stage at a local farm show ground.
Trump dropped to the ground before popping back up and pumping his fist to the audience as agents hustled him away. He was quickly discharged from a local hospital and flew to his New Jersey country club.
Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old gunman, was shot dead by a police sniper after firing multiple rounds at Trump, killing 50-year-old retired fire chief Corey Comperatore. Investigators later found three loaded magazines with 100 rounds in each, a bulletproof vest, and a remote control for explosive devices later found in Crooks’ car.
Assassination risks
The Secret Service is responsible for protecting sitting and former presidents; the security bubble around Trump has been reinforced in recent weeks. The FBI has jurisdiction over investigations into presidential assassination attempts.
“The threat level is high,” a law enforcement official said at Sunday’s press conference. “We have increased the amount of assets that we are supporting. We live in dangerous times.”
In a separate statement, Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic rival for the Oval Office, said, “I have been briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida, and I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.”
Joe Biden said he had attempted to call Trump following the incident, but was unable to get through on the phone.
“I called him, but he wasn’t available. I’m going to try again later,” he told reporters on Monday.
