Updated September 16, 2024 at 15:36 PM ET
Former President Donald Trump was targeted in what “appears to be an attempted assassination” on Sunday afternoon, the FBI says. A suspect — Ryan Wesley Routh — is in custody after being identified as a man seen with a rifle at Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla.
The incident began around 1:30 p.m. ET on the Trump International golf course where the former president was playing; it ended miles away after Routh’s vehicle was spotted on Interstate 95. It occurred two months after Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt in Butler, Pa.
Here’s a rundown of the facts that are known so far:
The ongoing investigation
Palm Beach County, Fla., Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Monday that the security plan for Trump worked as it should have.
“What we did yesterday proves that the system can work because the suspect didn’t even get close to getting a round off and we apprehended him and brought him to justice,” Bradshaw said.
U.S. Secret Service acting Director Ronald Rowe said the suspect never even had “line of sight” on Trump.
It's unclear how long the suspect was in Florida but it does appear he acted alone, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri.
Bradshaw told reporters that Trump called him Sunday to thank him for everything authorities did.
The suspect now faces federal gun charges
Routh appeared in a federal courtroom in West Palm Beach on Monday, where he was charged with two gun-related offenses: possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Routh, who was represented by a federal public defender, told federal Judge Ryon McCabe that he has no savings to pay for his defense. Wearing a blue prison jumpsuit and shackles, he also said he has a 25-year-old son.
Agreeing with prosecutors’ request, the judge ordered Routh to remain in custody until a formal arraignment on Sep. 30.
Routh's cellphone provider offered data suggesting that he had been near the golf course for nearly 12 hours, from 1:59 a.m. to 1:31 p.m., according to court documents.
A Secret Service agent spotted a gun
As Trump moved through the golf course on Sunday, so did a “bubble” of security that the Secret Service extends around him. An agent who was ahead of Trump on the course “was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engage that individual, at which time the individual took off,” Sheriff Bradshaw said.
The weapon was spotted in an area of the golf course where three holes — 5, 6 and 7 — turn a corner close to an intersection where two large roads meet: S. Congress Ave. and Summit Blvd.
From his vantage point, the suspect could view two holes on the course, Bradshaw said.
Agents fired at the suspect
U.S. Secret Service personnel fired four to six rounds as they shot at the suspect from a long distance, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Rafael Barros. The suspect fled in a car and headed toward I-95, less than 2 miles to the east.
“In the bushes where this guy was, is an AK-47-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks which were hung on the fence that had ceramic tile in them and a GoPro” camera, Bradshaw said, noting that the suspect was seemingly intent on filming what took place.
The weapon was identified as an SKS-style rifle — its design slightly predates the AK-47 — according to the criminal complaint against Routh. Both guns use the same 7.62 x 39 mm rounds, and the SKS was notably used by Viet Cong snipers in the Vietnam War, according to the Violence Policy Center.
The center adds that an SKS-style gun was used in two high-profile attacks in the past decade: one at a baseball field where members of Congress played in 2017; and another at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado in 2015. The June 2017 attack on a Congressional baseball game practice in Alexandria, Va., left five wounded, including then-House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and two Capitol Police officers.
At the time of Sunday's encounter, Trump was one or two holes away — “probably between [300] and 500 yards” from the suspect’s location, Bradshaw said. “But with a rifle and a scope like that, that's not a long distance,” he added.
Photos from the scene depict what looks to be an improvised sniper’s nest, with backpacks hung next to each other on the fence with a space in between them. The placement of ceramic tiles suggests the suspect likely intended them to provide armor against any incoming gunfire.
A witness took a picture of the suspect’s license plate
Police converged on the golf course after the Secret Service reported shots fired.
Bradshaw says law enforcement then got a big break: “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 and the tag’ — which was great.”
A license-plate reader system reported that the vehicle was on I-95, driving north toward nearby Martin County. The sheriff’s office in that county then pulled the Nissan SUV over around 2:14 p.m. and arrested Routh after the witness identified him as the suspect from the golf course, according to court records. Routh, 58, allegedly said that he knew why he was being pulled over.
The license plate on Routh's Nissan belonged to another vehicle — a white Ford pickup whose tag was reported stolen — according to the criminal complaint.
Routh is a former Trump supporter
Routh spent much of his adulthood in North Carolina before moving to Hawaii in 2018. He owns a business that builds portable storage units and tiny homes on Oahu. His digital footprint depicts Routh as a disillusioned former Trump supporter who backs Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Routh has an extended criminal history, including a conviction on a felony charge of possessing a weapon of mass destruction in 2002. Public records list him as the defendant in multiple court cases, on matters from bad checks to tax delinquencies. Between 2001 and 2010, he was also charged with numerous misdemeanors.
FBI Agent Veltri said the suspect was the subject of a 2019 tip to the FBI, which accused him of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Veltri says they investigated, but the tip fell apart.
North Carolina voting records show Routh voted in the recent Democratic primary election there, but he is listed as unaffiliated with any party. He has written in a self-published 2023 book about voting for Trump in 2016 and regretting it.
Federal Election Commission records show Routh donated to the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue nearly 20 times, in amounts ranging from $1 to $25, between September 2019 and March 2020.
Trump, Harris and Biden respond
“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!” Trump said in a statement sent out by his campaign on Sunday afternoon.
He pledged not to slow down his campaigning, and he later thanked the Secret Service and local law enforcement for their actions.
Trump’s opponent in the 2024 presidential race, Vice President Harris, condemned political violence, saying on Sunday that she was “deeply disturbed" by the incident.
“I am thankful that former President Trump is safe,” Harris said. “I commend the U.S. Secret Service and law enforcement partners for their vigilance.”
In an event on Monday, President Biden also condemned political violence and “the attempted assassination against our former president,” saying the ballot box, not a gun, is how America resolves differences.
Copyright 2024 NPR
