Welcome and opening summary…
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Questions are likely to be raised again about the security surrounding Donald Trump after he appears to be the victim of a second assassination attempt in two months.
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Security forces arrested the suspect after finding a gun barrel in the bush. Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach The suspect fled after security forces opened fire on him in front of the venue where the former president was performing. An AK-47 assault rifle and a scope were recovered from the scene. The FBI called the incident “a likely assassination attempt on the former president.”
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In a late night post on the Truth social account, Trump President Trump thanked the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies for “doing a great job” to keep him safe. After saying it had been an “interesting day,” Trump went on to praise law enforcement officials: “They did a fantastic job. I'm so proud to be an American!”
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U.S. Senator who served as Trump's running mate in the presidential election J.D. VanceHe said he spoke with Trump after the shooting and the former president was in good spirits.
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Palm Beach County Sheriff, Rick Bradshaw He told reporters that a witness took photos of the suspect and the car he was driving to get away, and that officers later stopped and detained the suspect on Interstate 95 in Martin County, just north of Palm Beach County.
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A source with direct knowledge of the investigation told the Guardian that the suspect is 58 years old. Ryan Wesley RouthA vocal supporter of Ukraine's war effort, he has been in touch with the Ukrainian military to send in foreign mercenaries, a move that a Ukrainian Foreign Legion official described as “delusional.” Volodymyr Zelensky He expressed joy that President Trump was “safe and unharmed.”
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Trump campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita and Suzie Wildes He described the suspect as an “evil monster.”
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Joe Biden He released a statement on Sunday evening, expressing concern about the incident, saying, “My team updated me on what federal law enforcement is investigating today as an attempted assassination of former President Trump. The suspect is in custody and I commend the Secret Service and their law enforcement partners for their vigilance and efforts to keep the former president and those around him safe. I am relieved that the former president is unharmed. As I have said many times, there is no room for political violence or any kind of violence in our country.”
Questions will be asked again about the security arrangements around Donald Trump after it appeared he was the victim of a second assassination bid in the space of two months
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Security forces apprehended a suspect after a gun barrel was spotted in the bushes of Trump International golf course in West Palm Beach ahead of where the former president was playing. The suspect had fled after security forces opened fire. An AK-47 style assault rifle and scope were recovered from the scene. The FBI called the incident “what appears to be an attempted assassination of the former president”
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In a late night post on his Truth Social account, Trump thanked the secret service and other law enforcement for their “incredible job” of keeping him safe. After stating that it had been an “interesting day”, Trump went on to further commend law enforcement officials: “THE JOB DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”
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Trump’s running mate in the presidential election, US senator JD Vance, said he spoke to Trump after the shooting and that the former president was in good spirits
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Palm Beach county sheriff, Ric Bradshaw told reporters a witness took photographs of the suspect and the vehicle he drove off in, and a person was later stopped and detained on Interstate 95 by deputies in Martin county, immediately north of Palm Beach county
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A source with direct knowledge of the investigation has told the Guardian the suspected gunman is 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, a vocal supporter of Ukraine’s war efforts, who had contacted Ukraine’s military in an attempt to supply foreign mercenaries for their cause in what an official from Ukraine’s foreign legion described as “delusional ideas”. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he is glad that Trump is “safe and unharmed”
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Trump campaign co-managers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles have described the suspected gunman as “an evil monster”
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Joe Biden released a statement on Sunday evening, expressing concern about the incident, saying “I have been briefed by my team regarding what federal law enforcement is investigating as a possible assassination attempt of former president Trump today. A suspect is in custody, and I commend the work of the secret service and their law enforcement partners for their vigilance and their efforts to keep the former president and those around him safe. I am relieved that the former president is unharmed. As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country”
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Main Events
The suspect is Ryan Wesley Routh From the vantage point of the golf course, former President Trump was much farther away than the gunman in July's assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, but law enforcement found a gun scope among the gunman's belongings left on a fence during the getaway, which would have put him within range.
According to various reports, Rouse was a former construction worker in North Carolina who was a vocal opponent of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and was trying to recruit overseas volunteers to fight for Ukraine.
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said the suspect showed little emotion when police arrested him as he fled the scene in a vehicle.
“He never asked, 'What is this?' Obviously there are officers with long rifles and blue lights and a lot going on. He didn't question it,” Snyder said, according to the Associated Press.
Prior to this, a Ukrainian Foreign Legion official said that the suspect Ryan Wesley Routh Treat them as “delusional thoughts.”
A spokesman for the International Legion, an organization of foreign volunteers in Ukraine, confirmed to Reuters that the organization has no formal ties to Routh. “We want to be clear that Ryan Wesley Routh has never been a member of, associated with or connected to the International Legion in any capacity. Any assertion or suggestion to the contrary is completely inaccurate,” the spokesman said.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested that the apparent assassination attempt on President Donald Trump by a vocal supporter of the Ukrainian cause shows that “playing with fire has consequences.”
Asked how he felt about Sunday afternoon's events, Peskov said: “It is not us who should think, it is the US intelligence services who should think. In any case, playing with fire has consequences.”
The arrested suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, had been visiting Ukraine since the war began to rally support from Western countries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier said he was glad that Trump was “safe and unharmed.”
Russia, under the leadership of President Putin, unilaterally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, an act widely recognized by the international community as illegal, and then launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The map shows the location of the assassination attempt, Trump International Golf Club, and near Interstate 95 where the suspect was arrested.
In case you missed it, here is the video of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's press conference. Rick Bradshaw Bradshaw said a man was taken into custody following an assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a Florida golf course. Bradshaw said the man was hiding in bushes about 400-500 yards from Trump, who was playing golf at a nearby hole, and had an AK-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks hanging from a fence, and a GoPro camera.
The suspect has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh.A source with direct knowledge of the investigation told the Guardian that the suspect, 58, has been named by other US media outlets, including the Associated Press, Fox News and CNN. Investigators have not formally released the suspect's name and gave no immediate indication of a motive.
The screenshot shows Ryan Wesley Rouse being interviewed at a rally in central Kyiv on April 27, 2022. Photo: AFPTV/AFP/Getty Images
Secret Service and Homeland Security agents searched the suspect's former home, and The Guardian's Ramon Antonio Vargas spoke to his son, Oran.
Welcome and opening summary…
-
Questions are likely to be raised again about the security surrounding Donald Trump after he appears to be the victim of a second assassination attempt in two months.
-
Security forces arrested the suspect after finding a gun barrel in the bush. Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach The suspect fled after security forces opened fire on him in front of the venue where the former president was performing. An AK-47 assault rifle and a scope were recovered from the scene. The FBI called the incident “a likely assassination attempt on the former president.”
-
In a late night post on the Truth social account, Trump President Trump thanked the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies for “doing a great job” to keep him safe. After saying it had been an “interesting day,” Trump went on to praise law enforcement officials: “They did a fantastic job. I'm so proud to be an American!”
-
U.S. Senator who served as Trump's running mate in the presidential election J.D. VanceHe said he spoke with Trump after the shooting and the former president was in good spirits.
-
Palm Beach County Sheriff, Rick Bradshaw He told reporters that a witness took photos of the suspect and the car he was driving to get away, and that officers later stopped and detained the suspect on Interstate 95 in Martin County, just north of Palm Beach County.
-
A source with direct knowledge of the investigation told the Guardian that the suspect is 58 years old. Ryan Wesley RouthA vocal supporter of Ukraine's war effort, he has been in touch with the Ukrainian military to send in foreign mercenaries, a move that a Ukrainian Foreign Legion official described as “delusional.” Volodymyr Zelensky He expressed joy that President Trump was “safe and unharmed.”
-
Trump campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita and Suzie Wildes He described the suspect as an “evil monster.”
-
Joe Biden He released a statement on Sunday evening, expressing concern about the incident, saying, “My team updated me on what federal law enforcement is investigating today as an assassination attempt against former President Trump. The suspect is in custody and I commend the Secret Service and their law enforcement partners for their vigilance and efforts to keep the former president and those around him safe. I am relieved that the former president is unharmed. As I have said many times, there is no room for political violence or any kind of violence in our country.”
