A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers serving on a special team investigating the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump has asked the Secret Service for an explanation for the latest assassination attempt on the former president, which took place on Sunday.
On Sunday, while Trump was playing golf at his club in West Palm Beach, Florida, a man holding an AK-47 emerged from bushes 300 to 500 yards away, raising the rifle and shooting a Secret Service agent. The man fled and was later arrested. The suspect has been identified as Ryan Routh.
In a statement later that day, the Select Committee's Chairman, Sen. Mike Kelly (R-PA), and ranking member, Sen. Jason Crow (D-CO), issued a joint statement in response to the assassination attempt.
“The Task Force is monitoring the attempted assassination of former President Trump that occurred this afternoon in West Palm Beach,” the bipartisan statement said. “We have requested a report from the U.S. Secret Service regarding what happened and how security personnel responded.”
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A sheriff's vehicle is parked near the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, after gunshots were reported near former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. (Peter Burke/Fox News Digital)
A sheriff's vehicle is seen parked near the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, September 15, 2024, after Secret Service agents opened fire on a man who pointed a rifle at Trump while he was playing golf. (AP Photo/Stephanie Mattatto)
The task force, which includes both lawmakers, was established on August 4 by House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
A photo of evidence found on the fence of former President Donald Trump's golf course was released during a press conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024, following the second assassination attempt on the president. (Kandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)
The ordinance was enacted after a gunman opened fire on Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.
As President Trump spoke about the border at the rally, shots fired by 20-year-old gunman Thomas Crooks rang out from the roof of a nearby building.
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After surviving an assassination attempt in July, Trump famously pumped his fist in the air and yelled “fight!” at the crowd. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Crooks fired eight bullets from an AR-15 style rifle from about 150 yards away from Trump, striking the former president's ear.
Sixty-four days after President Trump was nearly killed, another gunman appeared just steps away from the former president.
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“While we are grateful that the former president was not harmed, we remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in any form,” Kelly and Crow wrote. “The task force will share updates as more information becomes available.”
