The man suspected of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump did not appear to have any clear intention of targeting the 45th president until he encountered Secret Service agents on advance patrol, the Palm Beach County sheriff's office said Monday morning.
Investigators said Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was lying in wait near the sixth hole at Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach on Sunday afternoon while the 78-year-old was playing on the fifth hole on the east end of the club.
“Where are you from? [the gunman] He would have had to wait until the president climbed into the hole and then turned around and headed towards where he was.” Rick Bradshaw said on “Fox & Friends.”
“Based on the terrain that I know and where we're looking, I don't believe he would have had a clear shot from there to where the president is before he turned and came in that direction,” he said. [down the 6th hole].”
According to a federal criminal complaint unsealed Monday, an agent walking at least one hall away from the former president saw “what appeared to be a rifle protruding from between the trees” and opened fire, forcing Routh to flee.
Authorities said a witness took photos of the black Nissan Routh was driving, and police caught up with him after a short pursuit on Interstate 95.
“It's hard to see through the bushes to the other side of the hedge from the fairway, so they had no choice but to shoot where the gun was,” Bradshaw said Monday, adding that the quick actions of guards prevented the suspect from firing at Trump.
“Secret Service agents did a great job of returning fire as quickly as possible, forcing the man to drop the gun and flee.”
Routh was all smiles as he appeared in federal court in West Palm Beach on Monday morning. He was charged with possession of a firearm despite having a felony conviction and for possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
a Criminal charges It said a phone number linked to Louth was tracked “in the vicinity of an area along the tree line” of the course between 1.59am and 1.30pm on Sunday.
Routh is in custody and his next bail hearing is scheduled for September 23rd.
On Sunday night, Bradshaw caused controversy by saying that if Trump were a sitting president, there would have been tighter security and “the whole golf course on the hill would have been surrounded.”
Bradshaw appeared to retract those comments on Monday.
“My point is, because he's not a sitting president, some of the stuff that happened with the Secret Service doesn't exist, it's just a motorcade thing,” he explained.
“We had all the resources we could possibly have and what we needed when it came to the golf course site,” he continued. “At the end of the day, the system worked.”
The sheriff also said law enforcement is looking into Routh's actions before arriving at the course.
“We're looking into whether he had anywhere locally that he was staying,” Bradshaw continued, “His last known place of residence appears to have been Hawaii. We're looking into what his flight schedule was and if he had any travel plans to get here.”
Acting Director of the Secret Service Ronald Rowe was scheduled to travel to Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach on Monday to tour the site and meet with the former president.
President Trump thanked the Secret Service and Bradshaw's office for their efforts in protecting him during the assassination attempt.
