Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was safe on Sunday after the Secret Service foiled what the FBI called an apparent assassination attempt while he was golfing on his course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Several Secret Service agents fired on a gunman in bushes near the property line of the golf course after he was spotted a few hundred yards from where Trump was playing, law enforcement officials said.
The suspect left an AK-47-style assault rifle and other items at the scene and fled in a vehicle and was later arrested.
The apparent attempt on Trump’s life came just two months after he was shot at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, sustaining a minor injury to his right ear.
Both incidents highlight the challenges of keeping presidential candidates safe in a hotly contested and polarized campaign with just over seven weeks to go before the Nov. 5 election.
“I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes – It was certainly an interesting day!,” Donald Trump said on social media late on Sunday, thanking Secret Service and police for keeping him safe.
CNN, Fox News and The New York Times identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, citing unidentified law enforcement officials. The FBI declined to comment and Reuters could not independently verify his identity.
It was not clear if or how the suspect knew Trump was playing golf at the time, or what his motive was, but the attempted attack was sure to raise new questions about the level of protection he is given.
In response to a reporter’s question, officials acknowledged that because Trump is not in office, the full golf course was not cordoned off.
“If he was, we would have had the entire golf course surrounded,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said during Sunday’s briefing. “Because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.”
Soon after the incident, Trump sent an email to his supporters, saying: “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”
President Joe Biden later said he had directed his team to ensure the Secret Service has the resources it needs to ensure Trump’s safety, according to a statement released by the White House.
Reuters found profiles on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn for a Ryan Routh.
Read more: Shots fired near Donald Trump as he leaves Florida’s beach club
Reuters was not able to confirm these were the suspect’s accounts and law enforcement agencies declined to comment, but public access to the Facebook and X profiles was removed hours after the shooting.
The three accounts bearing Routh’s name suggest he was an avid supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia. In several of the posts, he appeared to be trying to help recruit soldiers for Ukraine’s war effort.
The suspected gunman’s son, Adam, reached by Reuters at the hardware store where he works in Hawaii, said he had not yet heard of the newest Trump assassination attempt and had “no information,” adding it was not something he believed his father would do.
Later, the reporter called back to the store and a colleague said Adam had gone home because of an emergency.
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