New images reveal the backpack, GoPro camera and AK-47 style rifle that a gunman left behind when fleeing the scene where he was targeting Donald Trump.
Law enforcement held a press conference in West Palm Beach on Sunday after the FBI announced it is investigating a second assassination attempt against Donald Trump in just two months.
The former president was rushed to safety on Sunday after multiple shots were fired in his vicinity while he was playing golf at his club in West Palm Beach.
A suspected gunman is in custody after the terrifying incident at Trump International Club almost exactly two months after a separate assassination attempt against Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Multiple reports name the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, a registered Democrat.
Officials said a U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agent spotted a rifle barrel sticking out of the chain link fence behind bushes just two holes ahead of where Trump was playing a round of golf on Sunday, prompting the agent to fire at the suspect.
An image shared by law enforcement reveals that backpack, bag, GoPro camera and AK-47 rifle with scope that a suspected would-be assassin had staged outside of Donald Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach on Sunday
The suspect, now allegedly known as Routh, ran into his vehicle from the brush, but was spotted by a witness who snapped a picture of his black Nissan SUV and license plate.
Routh, a construction worker with a criminal record, also allegedly left behind ceramic body armor plates meant to protect from gunfire.
Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters that the witness was able to share the license plate and later identified to law enforcement that the suspect they have in custody is who he saw fleeing the scene.
Routh has a rap sheet in North Carolina, including in 2002 for ‘weapon law violations’ and ‘terrorist threats,’ according to public records widely shared on social media.
A nearly two-minute clip from 2022 emerged sunday after Routh was revealed as a suspect where he was being interviewed by News Week Romania about helping recruit fighters for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
‘This is definitely evil against good,’ Routh said in the video where he was wearing an American Flag patterned t-shirt.
Trump confirmed in a statement about an hour after the shots were reported that he is ‘safe and well’ and didn’t want rumors to ‘start spiraling out of control.’
The suspect was able to get within 400-500 yards of Trump.
The 2024 Republican nominee’s bulked up Secret Service advance team, however, spotted the shooter in the tree lines just two holes from where Trump was golfing.
Special Agent Rafael Barros explained at the press conference on Sunday that Secret Service moves along with Trump and usually surveying one or two holes ahead of him when he goes for a round of golf.
Asked if the security has changed around Trump since the first attempt on his life earlier this summer, Barros said: ‘Yes, the threat was high.’
‘We have increased the amount of assets that we’ve supported,’ he continued. ‘We are living in dangerous times.’
Real estate investor and New York City landlord Steve Witkoff was Trump’s golfing buddy on Sunday, sources told DailyMail.com.
The FBI released a statement two hours after the incident claiming the attack ‘appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.’
Multiple reports name the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh (pictured), a registered Democrat and construction worker
Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters a member of Donald Trump’s Secret Service detail spotted the barrel sticking out from bushes two holes from where the former president was golfing on Sunday
Multiple shots were fired near Trump’s golf club in West Pam Beach, Florida on Sunday. Now a police scene is setup outside the club
The armed suspect was posted up outside the club around the 5th and 6th hole, which is confirmed to be a more ‘vulnerable’ area of the course because it is closest to the road.
Sheriff Bradshaw detailed that the suspected assassin was wielding an ‘AK-47 style weapon with a scope’, which was recovered at the scene.
So was a backpack and GoPro camera, which Sheriff Bradshaw revealed in images of where the suspect was set-up in the bushes along the fencing of Trump’s golf club.
The area where the suspect was first spotted by his security detail was two holes ahead of where Trump was golfing at the time of gunshots, causing the individual to flee.
When not campaigning, Trump is often found golfing at his West Palm Beach club. Pictured: Donald Trump flashes a thumbs-up as he golfs at his club in West Palm Beach on May 4, 2023
Undergrowth is cut back in this area every summer and is one of the parts of the course closest to the road.
The incident comes as Trump’s security detail has been ramped up in the two months after the former president was shot in the ear during an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.
Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) is on the House Task Force on the assassination attempt and said Sunday that the latest proves the attack in Butler was not an ‘isolated incident.’
‘As I’ve said before, the July 13th assassination attempt was not an isolated incident that we can take our time investigating as domestic and foreign threats are ongoing,’ Waltz wrote on X.
He added: ‘As a member of the Assassination Task Force, I expect the Secret Service to brief us this week.’
The Task Force said it is looking at this incident – but it’s unclear if they will also start probing this in conjunction to the other assassination attempt.
Chairman Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) and Ranking Member Jason Crow (D-Colo.) wrote in a statement on Sunday: ‘The Task Force is monitoring this attempted assassination of former President Trump in West Palm Beach this afternoon.’
‘We have requested a briefing with the U.S. Secret Service about what happened and how security responded,’ it continues. ‘We are thankful that the former President was not harmed, but remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in all of its forms. The Task Force will share updates as we learn more.’
Trump’s golf club is just five miles from his residence at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach and is where the former president is often spotted golfing when he is not on the campaign trail.
The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Department held a press conference Sunday afternoon to provide updates on the shooting and revealed images of the suspect’s backpack, GoPro camera and AK-47 rifle left at the scene.
‘Nothing will slow me down,’ Trump wrote in a statement. ‘I will NEVER SURRENDER!’
Palm Beach Sheriff’s Department vehicles posted up outside Trump International Golf Club on Sunday after gunshots were reported in the vicinity of where the former president was golfing
Police survey the tree line and brush outside Trump International Golf Club where the gunman was hiding and where he left his belongings when he fled the scene
‘President [Joe Biden] and Vice President [Kamala Harris] have been briefed about the security incident at the Trump International Golf Course, where former President Trump was golfing,’ according to a White House statement.
‘They are relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team.’
Harris, who just met Trump for the first time in person at their debate on Tuesday, responded to the shooting with a statement sharing the platitude: ‘Violence has no place in America.’
‘I have been briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida, and I am glad he is safe,’ she wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Trump speaks with DailyMail.com during an interview at his Mar-a-Lago club – just five miles down the road from his golf club where shots were fired on Sunday
United States Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a post on X: ‘The Secret Service, in conjunction with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, is investigating a protective incident involving former President Donald Trump that occurred shortly before 2 p.m.’
‘The former president is safe,’ he assured, adding that the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office will follow up with more details about the incident.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he spoke with Trump moments after news broke.
‘He is one of the strongest people I’ve ever known,’ the senator wrote on X. ‘He’s in good spirits and he is more resolved than ever to save our country.’
It is still unclear how many people were involved in Sunday’s shooting.
But the report of shots near Trump raises eyebrows as multiple investigations are ongoing into the shooting in Pennsylvania earlier this summer that left two dead, including the shooter, and two critically injured.
A bullet struck Donald Trump’s right ear during an assassination attempt on July 13 at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania
Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot dead by Secret Service agents after he was able to climb onto a roof with an AR-15 just 400 feet from where Trump was speaking and take multiple shots that killed one rally goer, critically injured two others and struck the former president
Trump walked away from the assassination attempt with just a bloody ear that could have been a fatal shot had it been a few millimeters different and struck his head.
But would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot dead by Secret Service before he was able to get in another shot at the former president.
Initial canvassing led to authorities discovering his car near the rally site in Butler with explosives and his parent’s home with even more bombs.
Congressional and other local and federal investigations are ongoing to discover what led to the failures that allowed a shooter to get just a few hundred feet away from Trump with an AR-15 rifle.
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