A man has been detained following a shooting at a golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday afternoon in what the FBI believes to be an “attempted assassination” of Donald Trump, two months after the former president was assassinated at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
“What a fascinating day it has been!” Trump, who was taken to safety during the incident, said in a Truth Social post Sunday night. He also thanked the Secret Service and law enforcement, writing in capital letters that “the job done was simply amazing.”
About 10 hours earlier, shortly before 2 p.m., Trump was playing golf at Mar-a-Lago, near his home, when Secret Service agents found a scoped rifle in bushes off the course, Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw said at a press conference.
Secret Services fired shots at the man, who fled in a black Nissan. It was unclear whether the man “was able to shoot our agents” as gunfire rang out, Special Agent in Charge Rafael Barros of the Secret Service’s Miami field office said at a news conference.
Bradshaw said a nearby witness took a photo of the vehicle and contacted authorities, which led to the arrest. The man in custody was identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, according to three police officials. The suspect’s identity was not released at a news conference Sunday.
Law enforcement officials told NBC News that an AR-style rifle was recovered from the scene. Two backpacks and a GoPro camera were found next to the fence near the rifle, Bradshaw said.
Routh has a lengthy criminal and civil court history, including a conviction for possession of a machine gun in 2022. Property records show a Ryan Routh has lived in North Carolina for decades and most recently in Hawaii. NBC News has not confirmed whether the man taken into custody Sunday is the same person as Routh.
Routh had previously told other media outlets that he was in Ukraine to help with the country’s war effort, and last year he expressed frustration to Semaphore about Ukraine’s caution in accepting foreign soldiers, telling the Romanian edition of Newsweek in June 2022 that he was conducting a recruitment drive to help with the war effort.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Chang said in a statement that the Republican presidential nominee was “safe” after the incident.
A few hours after the incident, Trump left the golf course in a motorcade and returned to his Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a source familiar with the matter, and another source said Trump had already arrived at Mar-a-Lago.
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A senior police official briefed on the incident told NBC News that Trump was on the golf course when he heard what sounded like gunfire nearby.
Trump was on the golf course between the fifth and sixth holes when the incident occurred, according to a person familiar with the matter. Trump was playing golf with friend and donor Steve Witkoff, the person said.
Palm Beach County State’s Attorney Dave Aronberg said in an interview with MSNBC that the federal government would take over the case and that the Department of Justice would prosecute.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who ran against Trump in the Republican presidential primary before dropping out and endorsing him, said the state would conduct its own investigation, adding: “The public deserves to know the truth about the attempted assassin and how he got within 500 yards of a former president and current Republican nominee.”
Sources said Sunday’s incident will not affect Trump’s campaign schedule this week. The Trump campaign announced he will hold a town hall in Flint, Michigan, on Tuesday. He is also scheduled to speak at a campaign event in New York on Wednesday, speak in Washington, D.C., on Thursday and hold a rally in North Carolina on Saturday.
The second attempt on Trump’s life comes amid growing partisan rhetoric and fears of political violence just 51 days before a presidential election that opinion polls consistently project as a close race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Politicians from both parties on Sunday condemned the political violence and expressed gratitude that President Trump was safe.
“I am deeply troubled by today’s possible assassination attempt on former President Trump,” Harris said in a statement, adding that she was “grateful” that Trump was safe.
“As the facts emerge, I want to be clear that I condemn political violence,” she said. “We must all play our part to ensure this incident does not lead to further violence.”
Her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, expressed similar sentiments about X, saying “violence has no place in our country.”
President Joe Biden said in a statement that he had been briefed on the situation and was “relieved that the former president is unharmed.”
“As I’ve said many times, there is no room for political violence or any kind of violence in our country, and I have directed my team to ensure that the Secret Service continues to have all the resources, capabilities and safeguards it needs to provide the continued security of the former president,” Biden said.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana told The X Show he spent “several hours” with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday and called him “unstoppable.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said of X, “Those responsible must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The Trump campaign sent out a fundraising email on Sunday that referenced the incident, with Trump signing the email, saying, “Yet another assassination attempt has made my resolve even stronger.”
Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, Trump’s running mate, said on X-TV that Trump was in “good spirits.”
“There is still a lot we don’t know, but tonight I will hold my children even tighter than usual and say a prayer of thanks,” Vance said.
It has been about two months since a gunman grazed Trump’s head at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, one of which hit his ear, killing one supporter and seriously wounding two others. The Secret Service shot and killed the assailant. In the midst of the chaos, Trump was surrounded by Secret Service agents, who escorted him off the stage with his fist raised and saying “fight,” a phrase that has become a catchphrase among his supporters.
The Trump campaign and security organisation changed how they conducted campaign rallies after the Butler shooting: The Trump campaign initially planned to cancel outdoor rallies, but the Secret Service ultimately approved the use of bulletproof glass to protect Trump at outdoor campaign events.
Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe is heading to Florida, two Secret Service officials said. The previous director, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned after the last assassination attempt on President Trump.
“For the second time in two months, an evil monster has tried to take President Trump’s life,” Trump campaign co-chairs Chris LaCivita and Suzie Wiles said in a memo to staff on Sunday.
“President Trump and all of his companions are safe thanks to the outstanding work of the United States Secret Service,” they said in the memo obtained by NBC News.