What we know about Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt against Donald Trump
Photos of an AK-47 rifle, a backpack, and a Go-Pro camera on a fence outside Trump International Golf Club.
A suspect was taken into custody Sunday after what the FBI is investigating as an apparent attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump while he golfed in West Palm Beach, Florida.
It is the second attempt in two months to assassinate Trump.
In July, the former president was struck in the ear by a bullet that was fired at him during a campaign rally. A rally attendee, Corey Comperatore, was killed in the incident, and two others were injured. The suspect, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by the Secret Service.
There were no reported injuries during the incident on Sunday. The Associated Press, CNN, and other outlets citing law enforcement sources identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old man with ties to both Hawaii and North Carolina. His motive is under investigation.
Here’s what we know about the would-be shooter so far.
The Secret Service opened fire at the man
On Sunday, while Trump was golfing at his golf course in West Palm Beach, a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel in the bushes. Agents were deployed to clear the area.
“We are not sure right now if the individual was able to take a shot at our agents, but for sure, our agents were able to engage,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said during a press conference on Sunday held shortly after the incident.
The official said Trump was between 300 and 500 yards away when a rifle was spotted through a chain link fence.
After the Secret Service shot at the man, he fled the scene.
Routh was spotted by a witness
During the press conference, Bradshaw said a witness spotted a man “running out of the bushes” near Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach after reports that shots had been fired at the golf course.
“We had units here that immediately sealed off the area. Fortunately, we were able to locate a witness that came to us and said, ‘Hey, I saw the guy running out of the bushes. He jumped into a black Nissan, and I took a picture of the vehicle and the tag,’ which was great,” Bradshaw said.
Using information from the eyewitness, law enforcement identified the vehicle on the I-95 freeway as it was headed into Martin County. The suspect was pulled over and detained by local law enforcement and remains in custody.
He carried an AK-47 rifle with a scope
After the suspect fled, law enforcement said they found two backpacks, which contained ceramic tile, a GoPro camera, and an “AK-47 style rifle with a scope” near a chain link fence near the golf course.
It remains unclear whether the suspect managed to fire any rounds before the Secret Service shot at him.
He was previously convicted on a weapons charge
The Associated Press reported Routh was convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, in that case, a fully automatic machine gun.
AP, citing a News & Record story, reported that Routh had been arrested after a three-hour standoff with law enforcement, in which he barricaded himself inside a roofing business following a traffic stop. It’s unclear how the charges were resolved, The New York Times reported.
He wanted to die in the Ukraine war
The New York Times reported Routh had expressed on social media a desire to die in battle in Ukraine’s war against Russia.
His bio on Signal, an encrypted messaging platform, read in part, “Civilians must change this war and prevent future wars,” The Times reported.
The former construction worker spoke to the outlet in 2023 for an article about Americans traveling to Ukraine to aid in the war effort. He told the outlet that he had no military experience but had traveled to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion to recruit Afghan soldiers who had fled the Taliban to fight in the country.
