‘Assassination attempt’: Identity of alleged Trump gunman revealed

Mr Trump “is safe” following the incident at the Trump International Golf Course close to his Mar-a-Lago home, with the suspect in custody.

US media has named the suspect as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh.

“The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,” the FBI said in a statement.

‘Barrel sticking out of fence’

The Secret Service saw a man with an AK-47 at the golf course in West Palm Beach on Sunday and opened fire at around 1.30pm (3.30am AEST) on Sunday, police said.

The suspect fled in a car but was arrested by local police on the I-95 a short time later.

An AK-47-style rifle with a scope was discovered in the bushes, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters at a media conference with the FBI.

“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,’” he said. “We have somebody in custody right now that is a potential suspect.”

Two backpacks and a GoPro were also hung on the fence “where he was intent on filming what was going on”, Sheriff Bradshaw said, showing pictures from the scene.

Ceramic tile was also found in the backpack.

He estimated Mr Trump was 300 to 500 yards (275 to 460 metres) away.

Sheriff Bradshaw said the GoPro pictures were being processed.

“The Secret Service agent that was on the course did a fantastic job,” he said.

“What they do is they have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time towards where the President was at and he was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engaged that individual, at which time the individual took off.”

Police will release the suspect’s name and picture when he is booked into county jail and charged, Sheriff Bradshaw said. 

Who is Ryan Wesley Routh?

Routh is a former construction worker from Greensboro, North Carolina.

He was previously convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, a reference to a fully automatic machine gun, after a three-hour standoff with police in Greensboro.

Routh was pulled over in a traffic stop but put his hand on a firearm and drove to a roofing business where he barricaded himself inside, according to a 2002 News & Record article.

He attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, but relocated to Hawaii sometime around 2018, according to his LinkedIn.

He describes himself on his profile as “mechanically minded” and enjoying “ideas and invention and creative projects with artistic flair”.

He is the owner of Box Camp Honolulu, a shed building company.

‘Willing to die for democracy’

His social media contains frequent criticism of Mr Trump. Many of his posts express support for Ukraine and Taiwan.

He wrote on X that he tried to “sell” the idea of having former Afghan soldiers fight for Ukraine against Russia, but was denied multiple times before giving up after six months.

Routh spent several months in Ukraine in 2022.

“I am willing to go and die for democracy and the kids of Ukraine,” he wrote on X in February 2022.

Speaking to The New York Times last year, Routh said he had planned to move the Afghans, in some cases illegally, from Pakistan and Iran into Ukraine.

“We can probably purchase some passports through Pakistan, since it’s such a corrupt country,” he told the newspaper.

In an interview with Newsweek Romania while in Ukraine, Routh begged people to “come fight”.

“We need everyone here fighting … that’s why I’m in Kyiv so every project that I promote is about getting people here to support the Ukrainians,” he said.

‘Hates Trump’

Routh’s son, Oran Routh, told The Daily Mail his father hates Mr Trump “like every reasonable person does” but said he was “not a violent person”.

“I don’t like Trump either,” the 35-year-old said.

“That’s crazy. I know my dad and love my dad, but that’s nothing like him.”

Mr Routh said he and his father had a “falling out” and had “grown apart”, adding he didn’t even know he was in Florida.

“He’s not a violent person,” he said. “He’s a hard worker and a great dad. He’s a great dude, a nice guy and has worked his whole f**king life.”

‘Flat affect’

Martin County Sheriff William Snyder described the suspect as having a “calm” demeanour when he was arrested.

“The suspect’s demeanour, I would describe as having a relatively calm, flat affect,” he told reporters. “He was not displaying a lot of emotions. Never asked what this is about. He was not armed when we took him out of the car.”

Mr Trump told Fox News host Bret Baier that he was playing on the fifth hole when the shots rang out. 

He said he was fine and there was no evidence any shots were near him or hitting near him.

He was put in a golf cart and quickly driven away back to the clubhouse.

“Tell everybody I am fine and the Secret Service did a great job,” Mr Trump said.

‘Limited’ protection

A source told The Daily Mail the fifth and sixth hole was a “vulnerable” area as it is one of the parts of the course closest to the road and the undergrowth is cut back every summer.

Sheriff Bradshaw said the golf course would have been “surrounded” if Mr Trump was the sitting president but the Secret Service was “limited” in the areas it was able to cover.

“The golf course is surrounded by shrubbery, so when somebody gets into the shrubbery, they’re pretty much out of sight … and at this level that he is at right now, he’s not the sitting president,” he said.

 

 

“If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded. But because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible. So, I would imagine that the next time he comes to the golf course, there’ll probably be a little bit more people around the perimeter. But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done.”

It comes just over two months after Mr Trump was shot in the ear in an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania that left one man dead and two other attendees injured.

The Secret Service faced widespread criticism over its shocking failures at the July 13 rally in Butler that allowed 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks to get onto a rooftop 130 yards (119 metres) from the stage.

“The Secret Service, in conjunction with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, is investigating a protective incident involving former President Donald Trump that occurred shortly before 2pm,” Secret Service spokesman Andrew Guglielmi said in a statement on Sunday.

“The former President is safe.”

Trump’s first move

Mr Trump declared “I AM SAFE AND WELL” in a fundraising email following the incident.

“There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumours start spiralling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” the email said. “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER! I will always love you for supporting me.”

According to Fox News host Sean Hannity, Mr Trump was golfing with donor Steve Witkoff at the time.

“The first thing the President did when he got back to the clubhouse was make sure everybody else was OK,” Hannity said he was told by Mr Witkoff.

Vice presidential running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, said he had spoken with Mr Trump 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,” he wrote on X.

Biden condemns ‘political violence’

President Joe Biden said he had been briefed on the incident.

“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,” Mr Biden said in a statement.

“I am relieved that the former President is unharmed. There is an active investigation into this incident as law enforcement gathers more details about what happened. 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.”

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, said in her own statement on X, “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.”

Florida vows investigation

Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said the state would be conducting its own investigation.

“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,” he wrote on X.