Former U.S. President Donald Trump thanked the Secret Service and local police late Sunday, after what the FBI said was an apparent assassination attempt at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
“I would like to thank everyone for your concerns and well wishes – It was certainly an interesting day!” Trump said on his Truth Social service. “The job was done outstanding.”
The incident, in which Trump was not hurt, came two months after he was shot in the ear during a campaign event in Pennsylvania.
Members of Trump’s security detail were securing areas of the golf course ahead of where Trump was playing Sunday when they spotted a gunman in the bushes. Secret Service agents fired at the suspect, who fled the area and was later arrested.
The local sheriff said the suspect left behind an “AK-47-style rifle” with a scope, a GoPro camera and two backpacks.
“The Secret Service agent that was on the course did a fantastic job,” said Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, in a briefing held by law enforcement shortly after. “What they do is they have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time to where the president was at. And he was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engage that individual, at which time the individual took off.”
U.S. President Joe Biden said in a Sunday evening statement that he was relieved Trump was unharmed.
“As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety,” he said.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running against Trump in the November presidential election, said she was “deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt of former President Trump.”
“As President Biden said, our Administration will ensure the Secret Service has every resource, capability, and protective measure necessary to carry out its critical mission,” Harris said in a statement.
Various national media sources, including The Associated Press, The New York Times and Fox News Channel, cited unnamed law enforcement officials who identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii. Those officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
Social media posts show Routh backing Trump’s 2020 election campaign, but more recent posts expressing support for Biden and Harris.
Routh also repeatedly discussed the war in Ukraine and appeared to try to recruit soldiers to aid in Ukraine’s war effort.
Trump has not announced any changes to his schedule and is set to speak live on X on Monday night from his Mar-a-Lago resort to launch his sons’ crypto platform.
Meanwhile, the leaders of a congressional bipartisan task force investigating the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump said they have requested a briefing by the Secret Service.
Some of the material for this story is from Reuters and The Associated Press.
