Trump assassination attempt: What we know about the reported suspect
Ryan Wesley Routh speaking during an interview at a rally to urge foreign leaders and international organisations to help provide humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians and Ukrainian servicemen from Mariupol in central Kyiv on April 27, 2022, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A gunman attempted to assassinate Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Sunday at Trump's golf course in Palm Beach, Florida, authorities said.
Law enforcement officials said the man who pointed the rifle and was arrested is Ryan Wesley Routh
Records show Routh, 58, lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving in 2018 to Kaaawa, Hawaii, where he and his son operated a company building sheds, according to an archived version of the webpage for the business.
The Secret Service said its agents were accompanying Trump on the golf course, when one who was securing holes ahead of Trump spotted a gun barrel in some bushes near the property line.
Multiple agents engaged the gunman and fired at least four rounds at him. The gunman then dropped his AK-47 style rifle, two backpacks, a Go Pro camera and other items and fled in a black Nissan car.
Palm Beach County sheriff Ric Bradshaw said a witness managed to take a photo of the suspected gunman's car and license plate and gave it to authorities.
Shortly after, sheriff's deputies in neighboring Martin County stopped the suspect on Interstate 95 and took him into custody.
Reuters found profiles on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn for a Ryan Routh, and public access to the Facebook and X profiles was removed hours after the shooting.
The three accounts bearing Routh's name suggest he was an avid supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia.
On April 21, Routh directed an X message to Elon Musk, in which he wrote: "I would like to buy a rocket from you. I wish to load it with a warhead for Putins Black sea mansion bunker to end him. Can you give me a price please."
The New York Times reported it had interviewed Routh in 2023 for an article about Americans who were volunteering to help the Ukraine war effort. Routh told the Times he'd traveled to Ukraine and spent several months there in 2022 and was trying to recruit Afghan soldiers who fled the Taliban to fight in Ukraine.
On X in 2020, Routh expressed support for Democratic US presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and mocked Biden as "sleepy Joe."
Earlier this year, Routh tagged Biden in a post on X: "@POTUS Your campaign should be called something like KADAF. Keep America democratic and free. Trumps should be MASA ...make Americans slaves again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose."
Records show that while living in Greensboro, North Carolina, Routh had multiple run-ins with law enforcement. He was convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, according to online North Carolina Department of Adult Correction records.
The records do not provide details about the case. But a News & Record story from 2002 says a man with the same name was arrested after a three-hour stand-off with police. The story says he was pulled over during a traffic stop, put his hand on a gun and barricaded himself inside a roofing business. He owned the roofing company, according to state incorporation filings.
Local authorities said the gunman was about 400 yards to 500 yards away from Mr Trump and hiding in shrubbery while the former president was playing a round of golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.
Ric Bradshaw, sheriff of Palm Beach County, said that when people get into the shrubbery around the course “they’re pretty much out of sight”. Mr Bradshaw said the entire golf course would have been lined with law enforcement if Mr Trump were the sitting president, but because he is not, “security is limited to the areas the Secret Service deems possible”.
Mr Trump’s protective detail has been higher than some of his peers because of his high visibility and his campaign to seek the White House again. His security was bolstered days before the July assassination attempt in Pennsylvania because of a threat on Mr Trump’s life from Iran, US officials said.
In an email to supporters, Mr Trump said: “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!”
His running mate, JD Vance, and US Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said they spoke to Mr Trump after the incident, and both said he was in “good spirits”. Mr Trump also checked in with several Fox News hosts.
Fox News host Sean Hannity, a close friend of the former president’s, said on air that he spoke to Mr Trump and his golf partner, Steve Witkoff, afterwards. They told Mr Hannity they had been on the fifth hole when they heard a “pop pop, pop pop”. Within seconds, he said Mr Witkoff recounted, Secret Service agents “pounced on” Mr Trump and “covered him” to protect him.
Moments later, Mr Witkoff said, a “fast cart” with steel reinforcement and other protection was able to whisk Mr Trump away.
Mr Hannity said Mr Trump’s reaction after this happened – and when it was clear that everyone, including Mr Witkoff, was safe – was to quip that he was sad he had not been able to finish the hole since he “was even and had a birdie putt”.
Ms Harris, Mr Trump’s Democratic opponent in the presidential election, posted on X that she had been briefed on the reports of gunshots fired.
She said: “I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.”
The White House said President Joe Biden and Ms Harris would be kept updated on the investigation. The White House added it was “relieved” to know Mr Trump is safe.
Mr Trump has not announced any changes to his schedule and is set to speak live on X on Monday night from his Mar-a-Lago resort to launch his sons’ crypto platform.
Meanwhile, the leaders of a congressional bipartisan task force investigating the July 13 assassination attempt on Mr Trump said they have requested a briefing by the Secret Service.
“We are thankful that the former president was not harmed, but remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in all of its forms,” Representative Mike Kelly (Republican-Pennsylvania) and Representative Jason Crow (Democrat-Colorado) said in a statement. They said the task force will share updates.
US Representative Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Democrat who is part of the task force, said he “will seek answers about what happened today and then”.
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 newest Trump assassination attempt and had "no information," adding it was not something he believed his father would do.
Later, the reporter called back to the store and a colleague said Adam had gone home because of an emergency.
Another son of Routh's, Oran, told CNN in a statement that "I don't have any comment beyond a character profile of him as a loving and caring father ... I don't know what's happened in Florida, and I hope things have just been blown out of proportion."
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