Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was unharmed on Sunday after the Secret Service thwarted what the FBI described as an apparent assassination attempt while he was golfing at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida. Law enforcement officials stated that Secret Service agents noticed and engaged a gunman who was hiding in bushes near the property line of the golf course, just a few hundred yards from where Trump was playing. The suspect, who left behind an AK-47-style assault rifle and other items at the scene, fled in a vehicle but was subsequently apprehended.
Trump sent an email to his supporters, stating, "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!" according to an email seen by Reuters. This recent incident follows a previous attempt on Trump's life two months ago during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, where he sustained a minor injury to his right ear. These events underscore the difficulties in ensuring the safety of presidential candidates in a highly contentious and polarized campaign, with just over seven weeks remaining until the November 5 election.
It remains unclear whether the suspect knew Trump was golfing at the time, but the attempted attack is likely to prompt new inquiries about the level of protection provided to him. CNN, Fox News, and The New York Times identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, citing unnamed law enforcement officials. The FBI declined to comment, and Reuters could not independently verify his identity. Profiles on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn bearing Routh's name suggest he was an ardent supporter of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, with several posts appearing to advocate for recruiting soldiers for Ukraine's war effort.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw revealed that Secret Service agents spotted a rifle barrel protruding from bushes approximately 400 to 500 yards away from Trump as they cleared the area of potential threats before his play. The agents fired at least four rounds of ammunition around 1:30 p.m. (1730 GMT) at the gunman, who then dropped his rifle, left behind two backpacks and other items, and fled in a black Nissan car. A witness managed to photograph the gunman's car and license plate before he escaped.
After the suspect fled the scene, police issued an alert to statewide agencies with details about his vehicle, leading to his apprehension by sheriff's deputies in neighboring Martin County on I-95, about 40 miles from the golf course. Fox News presenter Sean Hannity reported that he had spoken to both Trump and Steve Witkoff, a New York real estate investor and longtime Trump friend who was on the golf course with him on Sunday. According to Hannity, both Trump and Witkoff described hearing "pop pop, pop pop" before the Secret Service "pounced on the president, covered him."
Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, in an interview with The New York Times, said he had spoken with Trump, who expressed gratitude for his Secret Service detail, calling them "awesome." Officials acknowledged that because Trump is not in office, the full golf course was not cordoned off. "If he was, we would have had the entire golf course surrounded," Bradshaw said during Sunday's briefing. "Because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible."
The White House stated that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been briefed about the incident and were relieved to know that Trump was safe. Biden later directed his team to ensure the Secret Service has the resources it needs to ensure Trump's safety. Trump is currently in a close presidential election race with Harris, who has seen a surge in the polls since replacing Biden as the Democratic Party's candidate in July.
On X in 2020, Routh expressed support for Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and mocked Biden as "sleepy Joe." Earlier this year, Routh tagged Biden in a post on X, suggesting his campaign should be called "KADAF. Keep America democratic and free. Trumps should be MASA ...make Americans slaves again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose." Trump's running mate in the presidential election, U.S. Senator JD Vance, said he spoke to Trump after the shooting and that the former president was in good spirits.
Trump was grazed in the right ear and one rallygoer was killed in the gunfire at the Pennsylvania rally on July 13. The gunman, identified as a 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper. This marked the first shooting of a U.S. president or major party presidential candidate in more than four decades, prompting the resignation of Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle under bipartisan congressional pressure. The Secret Service's new acting director said in August that he was "ashamed" of the security lapse that led to the assassination attempt.
