Attempted Assassination on Donald Trump Thwarted by Secret Service

United States: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was safe on Sunday after the Secret Service prevented what the FBI said was an attempted assassination of the billionaire while out on his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Several Secret Service agents opened fire on a gunman in bushes near the golf course’s property line after the man was seen approximately 300 yards away from Trump at the time, the officials added, as reported by Reuters.

The suspect abandoned an AK-47-style assault rifle and other items on the scene and escaped in a ride, only to be apprehended later.

When an audience member fired a gun at Trump, the candidate was only injured in his right ear, although the shooting took place only two months prior to the apparent assassination attempt.

Both scenes illustrate the difficulties of protecting presidential candidates in the acrimonious and highly competitive race that remains in the last over two months before the November 5 elections.

Assassination suspect and Kamal Harris share views on Trump. Trump needs to sue Harris to get her to control her mouth.

Suspect in Trump assassination attempt called former president a threat to democracy – https://t.co/u9nLePRSVG – @washtimes

— Dave Johnson (@DaveJohCanesFan) September 16, 2024

“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 that he was thanking the Secret Service and police for keeping him safe.

CNN, Fox News. Com and New York Times reported the suspect’s name as Ryan Wesley Routh, aged 58 and from Hawaii, based on unnamed police sources. The FBI did not respond to the request for the comment and Reuters could not confirm the identity of the man.

There was some debate on how or if the suspect knew that Trump was golfing at the time and the exact reason behind his actions, but what was certain was that he tried to attack the president-elect, which automatically raises new questions on how much safety is offered to the new leader.

When asked by a reporter, the officials agreed that due to Trump’s presidency not being in office, the full golf course was not closed.

Secret Service Action and Quick Response

“If he was, we would have had the entire golf course surrounded,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said during Sunday’s briefing. “Because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.”

Soon after the incident, Trump sent an email to his supporters, saying: “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”

Earlier the president said he had instructed his team to provide the Secret Service with proper tools to protect Trump, as cited in the statement by the White House.

CNN says assassination attemp on Trump is connected to "misinformatin and propaganda and hate speach". Hmmm… pic.twitter.com/ZXZ7gJvHY0

— Sam Mesterton (@sammesterton) September 16, 2024

New profiles have been created on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn for this person with the name Ryan Routh.

Reuters could not verify that these were the suspect’s accounts, though investigations agencies did not respond to the request for comments; however, both the FaceBook and X profiles were banned shortly after the shooting.

The three accounts with Routh’s name indicate that he was a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. In several of the posts, he seemed to be attempting to assist in enlisting soldiers for Ukraine’s war.

Motives Behind the Attack Remain Unclear

Son of the suspected gunman, Adam, who was contacted by telephone at the hardware store where he works in Hawaii, stated that he had not yet learned about the newest plot to murder Trump and that he had “no information” of it, further stating that it was not something that he thought his father would do.

The suspect in the new assassination attempt on Trump, Ryan Wesley Routh, kept many firearms at home, — Fox 8. pic.twitter.com/AdxXWl56I4

— Long Tran (@LongTrnHon95159) September 16, 2024

The reporter decided to call back to the store later and the representative informed him that Adam had left the store due to an emergency.

GUN BARREL IN BUSHES

On Sunday evening, Secret Service and Homeland Security officers raided the suspect’s former residence in Greensboro, North Carolina. Reuters witness interviewed a neighbor who provided an account of the person as the former owner, Ryan Routh.

Bradshaw said a Secret Service agent protecting Trump spotted a rifle barrel sticking out from the bushes at what he estimated to be 400 to 500 yards (365 to 460 meters) away from the former president while they cleared holes of potential threats before he could play.

Cops negotiated with the gunman, shooting at least four rounds of bullets at 1:30 p.m. (1730 GMT) on Sunday.

He then threw down his rifle, clothes, a pair of black trousers, two black backpacks, and another bag before escaping in a black Nissan car. The sheriff said that a witness saw the gunman and was able to capture the image of his car and license number before the gunman fled, as reported by Reuters.

Suspected Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump Foiled Outside Florida Golf Course https://t.co/hvlApXvg2w

— The Zimbabwe Mail (@TheZimbabweMail) September 16, 2024

Martin County sheriff’s deputies arrested the suspect on I-95, approximately 40 miles (65km) away from the golf course.

Fox News presenter Sean Hannity said that he had conversed with Trump on the phone, as well as with Steve Witkow, a New York-based real estate investor and Trump’s friend, whom the latter was golfing with.

Speaking to Hannity, they both said the same thing, and this is exactly how the president described it. They were on the fifth hole And the way Steve described this, the way the president described this, pop, pop, pop. The Secret Service “pounced on the president, covered him,” he added.

The White House in their statement informed that Biden and Kamala Harris informed about the event and thankful that he is safe.

Donald Trump is in a very close battle with Harris for the presidency, which has risen in the polls after taking place of Biden in the Democratic Party in July.

“Violence has no place in America,” Harris stated in an X social media post.

DEMOCRACY WORRIES

On Twitter in 2020, while supporting the Democratic U. S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, Routh referred to Biden as the ‘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. Trump should be MASA …make Americans slaves again, masters. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose.”

New details revealed on Trump shooter after second assassination attempt https://t.co/KM8NFJgMGH

— 9ja Breed (@9ja_breed) September 16, 2024

Harris has consistently stressed that another Trump term endangers the U. S. as a democracy and has pledged her strong support to Ukraine in its fight against Russia. Trump, during the debate last week, was asked whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war, and he replied that he wanted the war to end.

Trump received a bullet lodged in the right ear and one person died in the PA rally shooting on July 13. The gunman who was singled out, was a 20-year-old man named Thomas Crooks, and he was fatally shot by a Secret Service sniper, as reported by Reuters.

That was the first shooting of the U.S. president or a major party presidential candidate in more than four decades, and the conspicuous negligence of security was under heavy fire; Kimberly Cheatle thus had to resign as Secret Service director as a result of bipartisan pressure from the congress.