By Summary:
- Secret Service opens fire on a gunman near Trump’s Florida golf course.
- The gunman dropped a rifle and backpacks before fleeing in a car; later arrested.
- Biden pledges resources to help the Secret Service ensure Trump’s safety.
- Suspect reportedly expressed support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
- Suspect also voiced concerns about democracy in social media posts.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was unharmed on Sunday after the Secret Service thwarted what the FBI described as an apparent assassination attempt while he was golfing at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
According to law enforcement officials, several Secret Service agents fired at a gunman who had been hiding in bushes near the property line of the golf course. The suspect was spotted a few hundred yards from where Trump was playing. The gunman left behind an AK-47-style assault rifle and other items at the scene before fleeing in a vehicle. He was later arrested.
This apparent attempt on Trump’s life came just two months after he was shot at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, sustaining a minor injury to his right ear.
An undated selfie shows Ryan W. Routh, a suspect identified by news organizations, as the FBI investigates what they said was an apparent assassination attempt in Florida on Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, in this image obtained from social media.
Both incidents highlight the challenges of keeping presidential candidates safe in a hotly contested and polarized campaign, with just over seven weeks remaining before the November 5 election. “I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes – it was certainly an interesting day!” Trump said on social media late on Sunday, thanking Secret Service and police for keeping him safe.
CNN, Fox News, and The New York Times identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, citing unidentified law enforcement officials. Late on Sunday, Secret Service and Homeland Security agents searched a residence in Greensboro, North Carolina, which a neighbor confirmed had belonged to Routh.
The attempted attack was sure to raise new questions about the level of protection Trump is given. In response to a reporter’s question, officials acknowledged that because Trump is not in office, the full golf course was not cordoned off.
Secret Service and Homeland Security agents check a former home of a suspect named by news organizations as Ryan W. Routh as the FBI investigates what they said was an apparent assassination attempt in Florida on Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. September 15, 2024. REUTERS.
“If he were still in office, we would have had the entire golf course surrounded,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said during Sunday’s briefing. “Because he isn’t, security is limited to the areas the Secret Service deems necessary.”
Shortly after the incident, Trump sent an email to his supporters, declaring: “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”
President Joe Biden later said he had directed his team to ensure the Secret Service has the resources it needs to ensure Trump’s safety, according to a statement released by the White House.
Law enforcement officers work after reports of shots fired outside Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. September 15, 2024.
SUPPORTER OF UKRAINE
The presumed suspect, Ryan Routh, had traveled to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in 2022, where he told journalists that he aimed to help recruit foreign fighters for Kyiv’s cause after being rejected as too old to volunteer himself.
“A lot of other conflicts are grey, but this one is definitely black and white. This is about good versus evil,” Routh said in a video interview posted by Newsweek Romania in June 2022.
“If the governments will not send their official military, then we, civilians, have to pick up the torch and make this thing happen and we have gotten some wonderful people here, but it is a small fraction of the number that should be here.”
A map showing the location of Trump’s golf club and the location where police apprehended the suspect about 40 miles away.
Visibly emotional and wearing a shirt with American flag symbols, Routh made a passionate plea to the camera, urging people worldwide to stand up “for humanity, for human rights, for everything good in the world” by supporting Ukraine in the war.
Profiles on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn for a Ryan Routh also contained support for Ukraine. AfrikTimes was not able to confirm these were the suspect’s accounts and law enforcement agencies declined to comment, but public access to the Facebook and X profiles was removed hours after the shooting.
The suspected gunman’s son, Adam, reached by Reuters at the hardware store where he works in Hawaii, said he had not yet heard of the assassination attempt and had “no information,” adding it was not something he believed his father would do.
Later, the reporter called back and a colleague said Adam had gone home because of an emergency.
A screengrab shows Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump’s first post on his Truth Social account following what the FBI said was an apparent assassination attempt on Trump in Florida, September 15, 2024.
GUN BARREL IN BUSHES
Bradshaw said Secret Service agent protecting Trump saw a rifle barrel poking out from bushes about 400 to 500 yards (365 to 460 meters) away from the former president as they cleared holes of potential threats ahead of his play.
The agents engaged the gunman, firing at least four rounds of ammunition around 1:30 p.m. (1730 GMT) on Sunday. The gunman dropped his rifle, and left behind two backpacks and other items, and fled in a black Nissan. The sheriff said a witness saw the gunman and managed to take photos of his car and license plate before he escaped.
Sheriff’s deputies in neighboring Martin County apprehended the suspect on I-95, about 40 miles (65 km) from the golf course.
Secret Service and Homeland Security agents check a former home of a suspect named by news organizations as Ryan W. Routh as the FBI investigates what they said was an apparent assassination attempt in Florida on Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, in Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. September 15, 2024.
In a statement, the White House said that President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been briefed and were relieved to hear that Trump was safe.
Trump is currently locked in a close presidential race against Harris, who has seen a surge in the polls since replacing Biden as the Democratic Party’s candidate in July.
“Violence has no place in America,” Harris said in a post on X.
DEMOCRACY CONCERNS
Earlier this year, Routh warned in a post on X that democracy in the U.S. was at stake in the upcoming election.
Supporters of Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump gather around Mar-A-Lago, after he returned from Trump International Golf Club, which was the site of a shooting, to his residence at Mar-A-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. September 15, 2024.
Harris has repeatedly warned that another Trump term would threaten U.S. democracy and has vowed unwavering support for Ukraine in its struggle against Russia. When Trump was asked during a debate last week whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war, he responded by saying that he wanted it to end.
Trump was grazed in the right ear and one rallygoer was killed in the gunfire at the Pennsylvania rally on July 13.
That was the first shooting of a U.S. president or major party presidential candidate in more than four decades, and the glaring security lapse forced Kimberly Cheatle to resign as Secret Service director under bipartisan congressional pressure.
