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For the second time in just over two months, someone apparently tried to shoot President Trump, coming dangerously close to within 500 yards on Sunday, law enforcement officials said. (Photo: PTI)
Sunday was meant to be a day of relative rest for Donald Trump — a rare respite this deep into the presidential campaign — with a round of golf planned in addition to voicing his opinions on social media.
Then everything changed when the Secret Service found the muzzle of a rifle protruding from a bush fence at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club.
For the second time in just over two months, someone appeared to try to shoot President Trump, coming dangerously close to within 500 yards on Sunday, according to law enforcement officials. This time, the Secret Service returned fire before the suspect could fire on his target.
The incident has raised tough questions about how to ensure the former president’s safety not only while campaigning around the country, but also while he’s at his own clubs and establishments.
President Trump has been under increased security since he sustained an ear injury during an assassination attempt in July that highlighted a series of Secret Service blunders: When Trump was at Trump Tower in New York, parked dump trucks formed a barrier around the building, and at outdoor rallies, Trump now speaks from behind bulletproof glass.
But unlike the typical VIP who lives in a private home surrounded by a high fence, Trump lives in a club open to dues-paying members when he’s in Florida and often spends his holidays on the golf course. And this is a toxic time in the country’s politics.
“The threat level is high,” Special Agent in Charge Rafael Barros of the Secret Service’s Miami field office told reporters on Sunday. “We live in dangerous times.”
The political scene opened on Sunday with President Trump taking to social media to denounce pop stars who have complained about the post office and endorsed Kamala Harris, who hates Taylor Swift for going to the golf course. Vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance gave a television tirade about thoroughly debunked conspiracy theories about immigrants and pets that he refused to deny. Democrats were infuriated.
This was all standard fare in the most eventful presidential campaign in living memory.But then, shortly before 2 p.m., the conversation suddenly changed, plunging this election ever deeper into unprecedented territory.
“Trump and his golfing buddy Steve Witkoff were on the course, preparing to putt on the fifth hole, when they heard pop, pop, pop, pop,” said Fox News host Sean Hannity, a close friend of Trump’s who has spoken to Witkoff as well as Trump several times since.
Minutes later, “a speeding cart equipped with rebar and other protective gear whisked Mr. Trump away,” Hannity said.
When Secret Service agents noticed the rifle and the suspect, an agent fired at the suspect but apparently missed.
Secret Service agents quickly physically secured Trump and escorted him to the golf course clubhouse, where he remained until he returned to Mar-a-Lago, about 15 minutes away, said the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
About an hour later, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the agency and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office were investigating an unspecified security incident involving former President Donald Trump, adding that Trump was safe.
What it meant was highly unclear; what the nation initially knew could have been an unrelated shooting or disturbance near Trump’s home. “More than 20 police cars rolled out from nearby streets,” Max Exquiza of Palm Beach said of the emergency response he witnessed.
The Trump campaign released a statement saying President Trump was safe despite gunfire nearby, again without making clear whether he was the target.
But it soon emerged that the Secret Service had fired shots, and about an hour later, Donald J. Trump Jr. posted on Twitter that local police had found an AK-type rifle in the bushes.
After all of this, the FBI issued a statement saying it was investigating “what appears to be an assassination attempt against former President Trump.”
The suspect quickly disappeared, but police were able to identify the suspect’s vehicle.
Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder said his deputies immediately deployed manpower to northbound Interstate 95 and to all exits between the Palm Beach County line to the south and the St. Lucie County line to the north.
The suspect was arrested within minutes of the FBI, Secret Service and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office issuing a highly urgent BOLO (Be on the lookout for a vehicle) detailing the specific vehicle, license plate number and driver description they were searching for.
“One of my highway patrol officers located the vehicle, matched the license plate, approached the vehicle, safely brought it to a stop and took the driver into custody,” Snyder said.
Snyder added, “He never asked, ‘What is this?’ Obviously there are a lot of police officers out there with long rifles and blue lights. He didn’t question it.”
Police arrested suspect Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Kaaawa, Hawaii, three law enforcement officials told The Associated Press. The officials identified the suspect to The Associated Press but spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.
The suspect left behind an AK-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks that were hanging on a fence with ceramic tiles inside, and a GoPro camera, Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw said.
According to the sheriff, the suspect was hiding in bushes about 400 to 500 yards from Trump while the former president was playing golf at a nearby hole.
An interesting day indeed! Trump posted to Truth Social on Sunday night, where he heartily thanked the police for keeping him safe.
First Published: September 16, 2024 | 02:21 PM IST
