Trump safe after what FBI describes as an assassination attempt

MIAMI — Former President Donald Trump was playing golf Sunday afternoon in Florida when a Secret Service agent spotted a man with a rifle standing by a chain-link fence on the perimeter of the course, law enforcement officials said.

The agents opened fire, and the man fled in a black Nissan but was eventually taken into custody, the officials said.

Although Trump was safe and unharmed, the FBI said it was investigating the episode as an apparent attempted assassination, the second one against the former president in just over two months. Trump was wounded in a previous attempt during a July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

The suspected gunman was identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, according to a law enforcement official who was granted anonymity to describe an open investigation.

The episode unfolded around 1:30 p.m. Sunday as Trump was golfing at the Trump International Golf Course West Palm Beach, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of Palm Beach County said at a news briefing.

A Secret Service agent standing a hole or two away from Trump saw the armed man hiding in the shrubbery by a fence at the perimeter of the course, according to Bradshaw. The Secret Service fired at the man, said Rafael Barros, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Miami field office, though it was not immediately clear if the suspect had fired any shots.

Trump was perhaps 400 yards away from the armed man, Bradshaw said.

A semiautomatic rifle with a scope was found near the property line, along with two backpacks that were hung on the fence. The backpacks contained ceramic tile, and investigators also found a video camera, the sheriff said, adding that investigators believed the man might have intended to film the shooting.

“President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity,” Steven Cheung, the Trump campaign’s communications director, said in a statement.

A witness saw the man flee from the bushes to a black Nissan, the sheriff said. The witness took a photo of the car and shared it with law enforcement officials. The man was stopped driving northbound on Interstate 95 after crossing into Martin County.

Law enforcement officials are running a trace to determine who bought the gun and where it was sold, according to two officials with knowledge of the situation.

Routh was interviewed by The New York Times in 2023 for an article about Americans volunteering to aid the war effort in Ukraine. Routh, who had no military experience, said he had traveled to the country after Russia’s invasion in 2022 to recruit Afghan soldiers to fight there. He told the Times he once visited Washington to meet with politicians to strengthen support for Ukraine. “I’m just a U.S. citizen that’s helping out.”

Trump was golfing with his friend Steve Witkoff, a New York real estate investor, when the shots were fired, according to three people briefed on the matter. Trump later returned to Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach estate. His campaign sent two fundraising emails connected to the episode. “There are people in this world who will do whatever it takes to stop us,” one of them said.

Golf courses can pose a security challenge for protecting the former president. Though they offer few places to hide, they also feature vast spaces and few places to take cover. During the news briefing, Bradshaw acknowledged that the level of security Sunday would have been higher if Trump were the sitting president.

Vice President Kamala Harris said on social media that she had been briefed on the shooting. “I am glad he is safe,” she wrote. “Violence has no place in America.”

President Joe Biden said in a statement that he had been briefed on the investigation.

“I am relieved that the former president is unharmed,” Biden said. “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.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., posted on social media that he had spoken with Trump and he was “in good spirits.”

Trump talked to friends and allies throughout the afternoon, according to two people briefed on the scene inside Mar-a-Lago, and cracked jokes about how he was frustrated he couldn’t finish his golf game.

Trump’s former White House doctor, Rep. Ronny Jackson, said he spoke to Trump on Sunday afternoon.

“He told me he was always glad to hear from me, but he was glad he didn’t need my services today,” Jackson said. “I just told him I was glad he was OK, and he said he can’t believe this happened.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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