A gunman was captured by authorities after attempting to shoot former President Donald Trump at his Florida golf course. Secret Service agents, stationed ahead of Trump, engaged the suspect who fled but was later apprehended with the help of a witness who provided information about his vehicle.
A gunman was captured with a witness' help after apparently trying to shoot former President Trump at his Florida golf course. Trump is OK.Photos that show an AK-47 rifle, a backpack and a Go-Pro camera on a fence outside Trump International Golf Club taken after an apparent assassination attempt of Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump , are displayed during a news conference at the Palm Beach County Main Library, Sunday.
Sept. 15, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Shots rang out at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach as Trump was golfing Sunday around 1:30 p.m., according to authorities. Secret Service agents, who were posted a few holes ahead of Trump, spotted the barrel of an AK-style rifle popping out of shrubs along the golf course and opened fire toward the would-be gunman before he dropped his weapon and fled the scene in an SUV. Sunday's apparent assassination attempt is yet another jarring and unprecedented incident that comes as the general election campaign is picking up in full steam with only 50 days to go until Election Day, potentially upheaving what is a race coming down to the wire and will be decided by thousands of votes spread across seven swing states. "I will NEVER SURRENDER!" he wrote in an email his campaign sent to donors shortly after the incident. "I will always love you for supporting me," he added. "Unity. Peace. Make America Great Again," he added. The Associated Press identified the suspect as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, citing three law enforcement officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. During a news conference Sunday, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the suspect ran off after the agents shot at him but was soon found and captured thanks to information about his vehicle they got from a good Samaritan. The suspect was pulled over and detained while driving on Interstate 95 heading into another county following the incident. “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,’” Bradshaw said. “Which was great.”, the suspect has "a long criminal and civil court history, including a conviction for possessing a machine gun." Citing court records, the media outlet reported he was convicted of possessing a weapon of mass destruction -- a machine gun -- in 2002. At that time, the Greensboro News & Record reported the suspect was arrested after "barricading himself in a business during a three-hour standoff." Bradshaw said they took the witness to the suspect and got an affirmative ID. Police found an AK-style rifle with a scope in the bushes, along with two backpacks hanging on fence containing ceramic tile and a GoPro camera because the suspect apparently wanted to film “what was going on.” Authorities were still working to determine a possible motive Monday morning in what is certain to be a probe that will face intense scrutiny from lawmakers. Secret Service's protection of Trump is already a politically charged issue that is facing multiple congressional probes following the July 13 attempt on his life and Sunday's incident is likely to increase the pressure on the agency. Bradshaw said at a press conference Sunday that even Trump is given a smaller detail than the one given to a sitting president. Former presidents and current candidates, which Trump also is as the Republican presidential nominee, are given security details but are smaller than the president's. “At this level that he is at right now, he’s not the sitting president -- if he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded,” Bradshaw said. “But because he’s not, the security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible,” Bradshaw said, also praising the service’s fast response. “So I would imagine that the next time he comes at a golf course, there’ll probably be a little bit more people around the perimeter.” That two would-be gunmen could get so close to Trump with rifles is certain to ramp up pressure on Secret Service, which lost its director when Kimberly Cheatle resigned following the incident in Pennsylvania. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has also said the state will conduct its own investigation into how Routh was able to get so close to Trump with a weapon. The former president was not hurt in the shooting and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, said he was in "amazingly" good spirits. “I’m glad President Trump is safe,” Vance said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I spoke to him before the news was public and he was, amazingly, in good spirits. Still much we don’t know, but I’ll be hugging my kids extra tight tonight and saying a prayer of gratitude." The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been briefed on the situation and would be updated on the investigation, adding that they were "relieved" to know Trump was safe. It is the second time in as many months that the White House has had to walk a fine line between keeping political tension from spiraling further out of control while also seeking to keep Trump out of the White House. Harris, who is facing Trump in the presidential election, said in a statement that "violence has no place in America." The attempted assassination comes roughly two months after Trump was shot in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania. During the shooting, 50-year-old retired fire chief Corey Comperatore was hit by a bullet while shielding his wife and daughter. He was later pronounced dead, authorities said. Two other people were also seriously hurt. The suspected shooter, who authorities identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot and killed at the scene by a Secret Service counter sniper.
Donald Trump Assassination Attempt Secret Service Ryan Wesley Routh Florida
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