MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Suspect arrested after second assassination attempt against Trump

Trump said he was safe and that nothing would stop him (Pic Getty Images)

Former US President Donald Trump was the target of a second assassination attempt Sunday while playing golf in West Palm Beach, in the state of Florida, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed. A suspect with a criminal record of gun possession has been arrested while holding an AK47 rifle minutes after shots were reported.

After the incident, Trump was rushed to a safe place. Sunday’s incident will not affect Trump’s campaign schedule, it was explained.

According to a White House statement, President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were “relieved to know· that Trump was safe. “As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that the Secret Service has every resource, capability, and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety,” Biden said. “I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America,” Harris concurred.

The Republican candidate for the Nov. 5 elections announced on social media that ”there were shots fired near me, but before the rumors start to get out of control, I want you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND OK!“ He added: ”I WILL NEVER SURRENDER!”

It was the second attempt on his life after the one on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a 20-year-old shot him with a rifle wounding him in the right ear. The Secret Service took down the assailant back then and a series of measures ensued, including the resignation of Director Kimberly Cheatle, who admitted it had been the agency's “biggest operational failure” in decades.

Since then, Trump's security was upped. His team initially suggested canceling all outdoor rallies, but the Secret Service eventually agreed to bulletproof glass shields for those events.

Shortly before 2 pm, when Trump was playing golf near his Mar-a-Lago residence, a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle with a scope in the bushes outside of the course, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said in a news conference. The suspect then drove away but a witness nearby took a picture of his vehicle and alerted the authorities, who then arrested the 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, a man with a long criminal and civil court history, including a conviction for possessing a machinegun in 2022. Routh was said to be a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its conflict with Moscow. He spent several months in Kyiv in 2022 and told the New York Times about his efforts to recruit former Afghan soldiers to fight in Ukraine. He also told Newsweek about his efforts to enlist volunteers for Ukraine's International Legion.

Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said the federal government would take over the case and the Justice Department would file charges. Regardless, the State of Florida will launch its own inquiry because “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,” Governor Ron DeSantis argued.