Another assassination attempt was made on Donald Trump at his golf club in Florida on Sunday. Police have already detained the suspect. The shooter was reportedly running a website that recruits military personnel for the Ukrainian armed forces.
The US Secret Service said agents opened fire on the gunman near a golf course. The suspect fled in a black car, but a witness helped authorities identify the vehicle, leading to its detection. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a press conference that a man who is considered a potential suspect is currently in custody.
Bradshaw stressed that Trump was playing golf at his West Palm Beach course, located near his Mar-a-Lago residence, when the shooter was spotted on the hole directly in front of him. Campaign spokesman Steven Cheung confirmed that the former president was safe after shots rang out near him.
Secret Service spokesman Rafael Barros said they are still not sure if the man managed to shoot their agents. Agents patrolling the golf course reportedly spotted the barrel of a shotgun coming out from behind the fence. The suspect was located approximately 300-500 yards (275-455 metres) away. A weapon resembling a Kalashnikov assault rifle with a telescopic sight was found at the scene, along with two backpacks and a GoPro camera believed to be intended for filming. Barros also added:
The threat level is high. We live in danger times.
Detained shooter supported Ukraine
Records show 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving to Kaaawa, Hawaii, in 2018. There, he and his son operated a barn building company, according to an archived version of that business’s web page, AP News reports.
Routh often wrote on social media about the war in Ukraine and had a website where he tried to raise money and recruit volunteers to travel to Kyiv to join the Ukrainian army. A photo of Routh posted on the site shows him smiling, wearing a T-shirt and jacket emblazoned with American flags.
In June 2020, he published a post on X asking then-President Trump to win re-election by issuing an executive order directing the Justice Department to prosecute police officers for misconduct.
That year, he also posted a post in support of the presidential campaign of Democrat Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), then a US representative who has since defected to Trump.
However, in recent years, judging by his posts, he stopped liking Trump and began supporting President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
In July, following Trump’s assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, Routh urged Biden and Harris to visit those injured in the shooting at the hospital and attend the funeral of a firefighter killed at the rally. He wrote:
Trump will never do anything for them …. show the world what compassion and humanity is all about.
According to voter registration records, he registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012 and last voted in person in the state’s Democratic Party primary in March 2024.
Routh has also made 19 small donations totalling $140 since 2019 using his Hawaii address to ActBlue, a political action committee that supports Democratic candidates, according to federal campaign finance records.
In May, an assassination attempt in Slovakia critically wounded the republic’s prime minister, Robert Fico. The assailant turned out to be Juraj Cintula, a supporter of the opposition Progressive Slovakia party. Cintula later admitted that he had opposed Fico’s policies when the Slovak prime minister promised not to send weapons to Ukraine, as Trump is now doing, and criticised Kyiv’s NATO bid.
Harris’ reaction to the assassination attempt
The White House said US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been briefed on the incident and were “relieved that he Trump is safe.” Harris, who is the Democratic presidential candidate, said:
Violence has no place in America.
She also added:
I am deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt of former President Trump today. As we gather the facts, I will be clear: I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence.I am thankful that former President Trump is safe. I commend the US Secret Service and law enforcement partners for their vigilance. As President Biden said, our Administration will ensure the Secret Service has every resource, capability, and protective measure necessary to carry out its critical mission.
This is the second time Trump has been targeted by gunmen. On July 13, Trump was wounded in the ear in a shooting at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. One spectator died as a result of the shooting. The Secret Service informed that the shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, has been eliminated.
