A person was arrested near the golf course where former President Donald Trump was playing, while carrying a long weapon, an AK47 rifle, and intended to attack the Republican candidate.
Trump was immediately taken to a safe place when shots were heard. The FBI confirmed that the incident is being investigated as an “attempted murder.”
According to local media, the detainee is a 58-year-old man named Ryan Wesley Routh, although the authorities did not give details. This is a new chapter in the troubled campaign, just 50 days away from a presidential election that promises a tight outcome between Trump and his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris.
“There were shots fired near me, but before the rumors start to get out of control, I want you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” he said in a press release. The Republican presidential candidate, who suffered an assassination attempt on July 13, added: “Nothing will stop me. I WILL NEVER GIVE UP!” In a second message, Trump said that “his determination is even stronger after another assassination attempt.”
According to CNN, the Secret Service shot the suspect and after the incident an AK47 rifle with a scope was recovered with which he presumably wanted to attack the Republican candidate. According to Sheriff Rick Bradshaw at a press conference, the person was arrested thanks to a tip from a witness and was also carrying two backpacks and a GoPro sports camera.
While waiting for an official confirmation of the identity of the detainee, the Associated Press reported that Ryan Wesley Routh was convicted in 2002 with an illegal machine gun with “capacity for mass destruction.” On his X account, which has been inactive for two months and has already been suspended, he frequently criticized both Republican and Democratic politicians, including President Joe Biden.
The Secret Service issued a statement saying it is investigating what happened in collaboration with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
In a statement, the FBI said it is “investigating what appears to be an attempted murder.” The sights on the attacker’s gun, according to the FBI, would have allowed the attacker to easily shoot Trump, who was about a hundred yards away.
The attacker was about 300 to 500 yards away from Trump. The Secret Service shot him and he ran from some bushes where he was hiding to the vehicle he tried to escape in, a black pickup truck whose license plate a witness managed to photograph. Thanks to this, the individual was arrested a few minutes later on the road.
Asked how the incident was able to occur, Palm Beach police officials responded at a news conference: “When someone goes into the bushes, they’re pretty much out in the open, and right now he’s not the sitting president. If he was, we’d have this entire golf course surrounded. But since he’s not, security is limited to the areas the Secret Service deems possible.”
In a statement, the White House reported that US President Joe Biden and Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris were briefed “on the security incident at the Trump International Golf Course, where former President Trump was playing. Harris herself said she was relieved to know that a tragedy was avoided. “I’m glad he’s safe. “Violence has no place in the United States,” he said.
On July 13, Trump was wounded in the ear by a gunman during an event in Pennsylvania, in the northeast of the country. Images of the former president with blood running down his face and his fist raised went around the world. The incident led to the resignation of the head of the Secret Service and the withdrawal of official leave from at least five agents of this unit responsible for protecting the highest officials in the country.
