U.S. Secret Service personnel fired at a suspected would-be assassin who was armed with a rifle and appeared to be targeting former President Donald Trump on Sunday at the Trump International Golf Club, in West Palm Beach.
Steve Witkoff told Fox News he and Trump were about to go up to putt when they heard the shots and U.S. Secret Service agents “pounced on” Trump and “covered him.”
“Former President Donald Trump is safe and unharmed following a possible attempted assassination,” said Rafael Barros, the special agent in charge of the Miami field office.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw praised the U.S. Secret Service after the agents thwarted a second assassination attempt on the former president who is running for re-election for the second time in November.
“The Secret Service agent that was on the course did a fantastic job. What they do is they have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time to where the president was at and he was able to spot this rifle that was sticking out ... and immediately engaged that individual at which time that individual took off.”
The shooting about on July 13 left Trump bleeding after the bullet grazed his ear during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Witnesses pointed to a man on the roof holding a rifle and a U.S. Secret Service sniper fired killing the gunman.
Jeffrey B. Veltri, the special agent in charge of the FBI Miami field office, said the FBI was the lead agency in the investigation in Palm Beach and Martin counties.
Bradshaw said that after the shooting a witness saw the man getting away and took a photograph of the black Nissan sports utility he was driving. Bradshaw said he left behind an AK-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks, and a GoPro camera. Bradshaw said a license plate reader detected the Nissan.
Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder said the suspect traveled northbound on Interstate 95 and deputies arrested him near Palm City. Florida Highway Patrol troopers were also involved. The FBI had yet to release the identity of the suspect. Law enforcement sources told The Associated Press and ABC News he was Ryan Wesley Routh.
“He never asked, ‘what is this about?’ Obviously, law enforcement with long rifles, blue lights, a lot going on. He never questioned it,” Snyder said adding he showed little emotion when deputies pulled him over.
CNN reported Routh, 58, of Kaawa, Hawaii, has a minor arrest record. Bradshaw said he was hiding in the shrubbery behind a fence that lines the golf course. Sources told The Associated Press that the U.S. Secret Service took Trump to Mar-a-Lago.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running for president against Trump, were getting updates on the shooting investigation. Trump sent an e-mail update to his supporters asking for donations for his campaign: “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! Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”
Harris also released a statement: “Violence has no place in America.” Biden released a statement saying he was committed to making sure that the U.S. Secret Service “has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety.” Gov. Ron DeSantis said state law enforcement will be conducting a parallel investigation.
“I would imagine that the next time he comes to the golf course, there will probably be a little more people around the perimeter, but the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done, they provided exactly what the protection should have been and their agent did a fantastic job,” Bradshaw said.
Related stories
Interactive map
Reporting from Palm Beach
6 p.m., Sunday
5 p.m., Sunday
Local 10 News partners WPTV, WPBF, The Associated Press, and ABC News contributed to this report. Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Wilson Louis also contributed to this report.