Former President Donald Trump applauds law enforcement after a would-be assassination attempt occurred at one of his Florida golf courses in West Palm Beach.
On Sunday, the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was reportedly spotted with an AK-style rifle with a scope about 400 to 500 yards away from the former president.
After a Secret Service agent fired shots, the suspect dropped the weapon and fled the scene in a vehicle. Around 1:30 p.m., the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office sealed off the area after the Secret Service informed them about the incident.
“Authorities eventually apprehended a man traveling from Palm Beach County into Martin County on I-95 after a witness captured a photograph of the individual’s vehicle,” according to county Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, per The Hill. “An AK-47-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks and a GoPro were found in the bushes where the suspect was spotted.”
After Trump’s campaign released a Sunday statement announcing he was safe, the former president offered additional comments on Truth Social late last night.
“I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes - It was certainly an interesting day!” he wrote. “Most importantly, I want to thank the U.S. Secret Service, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and his Office of brave and dedicated Patriots, and, all of Law Enforcement, for the incredible job done today at Trump International in keeping me, as the 45th President of the United States, and the Republican Nominee in the upcoming Presidential Election, SAFE. THE JOB DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!” I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes - It was certainly an interesting day! Most importantly, I want to thank the U.S. Secret Service, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and his Office of brave and dedicated Patriots, and, all of Law Enforcement, for the incredible… pic.twitter.com/mV15rJygOR
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) September 16, 2024
In a Monday morning post, Trump shared a link to his website and wrote, "FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!!!!!"
The assassination attempt occurred about two months after another shooter tried to murder Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, left Trump with a wounded right ear before he was killed by a sniper who returned fire.
Monday morning, Donald Trump Jr. expressed outrage and exasperation over the proximity of both failed attempts on his father’s life.
“You know what’s getting really old? Having to have conversations with my 5 young children about radical leftist[s] trying to kill their grandfather,” he said. “No person should ever have to do this in America or anywhere else and yet I had to have that conversation five times again yesterday.”
Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, said she was “deeply disturbed” by the shooting.
“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,” she said in a statement.
Other leading Democrats, including President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Lead Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, also released statements condemning political violence, Axios reports.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the state will conduct its own independent investigation into the assassination attempt.
“The people deserve the truth about the would be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the former president and current GOP nominee,” he said.
During a Sunday afternoon briefing, Bradshaw noted that Trump’s “golf course is surrounded by shrubbery. So when somebody gets into the shrubbery, they're pretty much out of sight."
“[Trump is] not the sitting president. If he was, we woulda had this entire golf course surrounded. But because he's not, the security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible,” he added. "So I would imagine that the next time he comes [to] the golf course, there'll probably be a little more people around the perimeter. But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done."
According to Kimberly Halkett, a Washington, D.C.-based reporter for Al Jazeera, the assassination attempt has led to “so much finger-pointing” in the nation’s Capital.
“Joe Biden supporters say that it is part of Donald Trump and his heated rhetoric that is to blame for this happening roughly twice in two months,” she wrote. “There are also Republicans who are saying that it is the president himself, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump’s rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, who continue to say that the former president is a threat to democracy – a danger to democracy that has prompted potential supporters of theirs to perhaps take shots literally on Donald Trump’s life.”
Editor's Note: A previous version of this article erroneously claimed that Routh fired shots with his weapon
