Several Secret Service agents fired on a gunman in bushes after he was spotted near the edge of Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course, a few hundred yards from where Trump was playing on Sunday, law enforcement officials said. The suspect, identified by multiple sources as Ryan Wesley Routh, has been arrested on charges of assault and weapons offenses. The incident was the second apparent attempt on Trump’s life in as many months.
Trump and the others in his group were unharmed, the Secret Service said. The agency’s spokeswoman, Teri Barbera, declined to give a detailed description of the shooting but said the agent who shot at the suspect was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Police continue searching the suspect’s home in Greensboro, North Carolina. Authorities say they found an AK-47-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks, and a GoPro camera that could be used to record or stream an attack. They also found a loaded pistol and several rounds of ammunition, according to law enforcement officials. The suspect was arrested on charges of assault and weapons offenses, but investigators have not yet determined a motive.
The incident raised concerns about political violence in the U.S. as the race for president heats up. Trump, whose rally in Pennsylvania was the target of an assassination attempt in July that left a bullet grazing his ear, has called for voters to unite behind him in November. However, his campaign has faced frequent accusations of stoking the flames with attacks on the media and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
During a press conference, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, who is leading the investigation into Sunday’s incident, addressed how a suspect was able to come within 500 yards of Trump while he was golfing. He pointed to shrubbery surrounding the golf course, saying that because Trump is not in office and does not have the full security protections of a president, the entire golf course isn’t cordoned off.
He urged the public to be vigilant, adding that it is crucial to stay “alert and to maintain a constant level of situational awareness.”
A bipartisan congressional task force that investigated a previous assassination attempt on Trump is calling on the Secret Service to brief lawmakers this week about the latest incident. The threat to the nation’s democracy and its institutions is more significant than ever, the panel said. The United States needs to make it clear that it will not tolerate violent intimidation or attacks against its elected leaders and that it is determined to hold those responsible accountable, the task force said.
