The suspect who has been arrested in connection with an “apparent assassination attempt” on Donald Trump has been named.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was identified by three senior law enforcement officials, Sky News’s US partner network NBC News reported.
He is believed to be the man shot at by the US Secret Service after gunshots were heardnear to where Mr Trumpwas playing at his Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach just after 1.30pm local time on Sunday.
An AK-47 type assault rifle weapon and a scope, two backpacks and a GoPro device were recovered at the scene, Palm Beach County sheriff Ric Bradshaw said in a news conference.
It comes just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee was injured after another such attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July.
What do we know so far?
Just after 7.30pm UK time, the Trump campaign released a statement to say Mr Trump was “safe following gunshots in his vicinity”.
It is believed Mr Trump was taking part in a round at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach at the time the shots were heard.
The FBI later confirmed it was investigating what “appears to be an attempted assassination of former president Trump”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:14
Secret Service spotted rifle, media told
Palm Beach County sheriff Mr Bradshaw said the gunman was about 400 to 500 yards away from Mr Trump and hidden in shrubbery while the former president played golf at a nearby hole.
He said the Secret Service agent – who was patrolling the course ahead of Mr Trump – spotted a rifle barrel coming out of a perimeter fence surrounding the course.
“He immediately engaged that individual, at which time the individual took off,” Mr Bradshaw said.
Officials said it remains unclear whether the suspect fired first – or fired at all – or whether only the Secret Service fired.
Police ‘surrounded vehicle’ of suspect
A witness spotted a man, believed to be Routh, fleeing the scene in a black Nissan SUV and managed to take photos of the car and number plate. Police then alerted the neighbouring Martin County Sheriff’s Office which pulled over the vehicle and detained the suspect.
Martin County sheriff William Snyder told reporters his officers followed the suspect vehicle for a while before making a “felony stop”.
“Our road units picked the vehicle up and we waited a while. We didn’t stop him right away. We didn’t want a high-speed chase,” he said.
“So we were able to wait until we had adequate units, surrounded the vehicle, and forced it to a stop.”
A witness said he saw “20 or more cop cars flying from nearby streets” as he described the emergency response outside Mr Trump’s golf course.
“From what I saw, five black unmarked SUVs blocked in a grey Mercedes in front of the golf course,” Max Egusquiza told the AP news agency.
“There were about 20 or more cop cars flying from nearby streets,” he said.
Suspect was ‘lying in wait’
Mr Snyder told WPTV that Routh was “not armed” when he was taken out of the car.
He said he had a calm, flat demeanour and showed little emotion when he was stopped.
“The suspect did not question why he was being pulled over,” Mr Snyder said.
Palm Beach State’s Attorney Dave Aronberg later told MSNBC that Routh was “lying in wait” for Mr Trump and aimed at the Secret Service until the agent fired at him.
He said Routh was “pretty quiet” and “pretty compliant” with officers when they pulled him over and isn’t sure if he has said anything since he was taken into custody.
Mr Aronberg said he does not believe Routh would have to fire a shot in order for him to be charged with attempted assassination.
What has Trump said?
Mr Trump was taken back to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach after the scare.
He later said in a fundraising email that he was safe.
“There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumours start spiralling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” the email said.
“Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER! I will always love you for supporting me.
“Unity. Peace. Make America Great Again. May God bless you.”
Mr Trump’s Republican running mate, vice presidential nominee JD Vance, said he will be hugging his children “extra tight” and “saying a prayer of gratitude” after what appears to be an attempt on Mr Trump’s life.
“I’m glad President Trump is safe. I spoke to him before the news was public and he was, amazingly, in good spirits,” Mr Vance wrote on X.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
“Still much we don’t know, but I’ll be hugging my kids extra tight tonight and saying a prayer of gratitude.”
Meanwhile, senator Lindsey Graham, one of Mr Trump’s top congressional allies, posted on X to say he is in “good spirits” after speaking with him.
Has the White House responded?
Shortly after details of the “apparent assassination attempt” emerged, the White House said in a statement: “The President and Vice President have been briefed about the security incident at the Trump International Golf Course, where former President Trump was golfing.
“They are relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team.”
President Joe Biden later said in a statement that he had been briefed on the “apparent assassination attempt” and was “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,” he said, adding that he has directed his team “to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former president’s continued safety”.
Kamala Harris, the vice president and Democratic presidential nominee, also said she was “glad” her rival for the presidency was safe after gunshots were heard “in his vicinity”.
Writing on X, she said: “Violence has no place in America.”
Ms Harris’s running mate Tim Walz said he and his wife Gwen were “glad to hear” the former president was safe.
Blasts have been heard in Beirut a day after 12 people were killed by pager explosions across Lebanon.
Reuters has cited a security source and a witness as saying communications devices used by Hezbollah have detonated in the country’s south and in the southern suburbs of the capital.
Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV reported explosions in multiple areas of Lebanon, which it said were the result of walkie-talkies detonating.
At least one of the blasts heard took place near a funeral organised by Hezbollah for those killed yesterday, Reuters said.
Three people were also reportedly killed in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region in the latest wave of attacks, according to Reuters, citing the country’s state news agency.
This comes after nearly 3,000 people were injured and 12 killed by pager explosions in Lebanon on Tuesday.
More from World
Two children were said to be among the dead, according to Lebanese health minister Firas Abiad.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Advertisement
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
A firm in Hungary’s capital has been linked to thousands of pagers that exploded in Lebanon in an apparent Israeli operation targeting Hezbollah militants, killing 12 people and seriously injuring thousands.
Images of the destroyed devices showed a format and stickers consistent with the AR-924 model of pagers with Gold Apollo branding – a Taiwan-based company.
But the firm’s founder Hsu Ching-Kuang said the devices were actually made under licence in Budapest by a firm called BAC Consulting, using the Gold Apollo name.
BAC’s address in Budapest is a small gated building.
In a statement given to Sky News in Taiwan, Gold Apollo said: “Apollo Gold Corporation has established a long-term private label authorisation and regional agency cooperation with BAC.
“According to the agreement, we authorise BAC to use our brand trademark for production sales in specific regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are entirely handled by BAC.”
Asked about the pagers and the explosions, the CEO of BAC Consulting Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono told Sky News: “I don’t make the pagers. I am just the intermediate. I think you got it wrong.”
A Sky News reporter in Budapest saw people arriving at the BAC Consulting property this morning who identified themselves as plain-clothes officers and asked not to be filmed.
Advertisement
Neighbours said they hadn’t seen anyone going in or out of the building for several weeks until today.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:41
Explosion at Lebanon market
Twelve people were killed and thousands seriously injured when pagers across Lebanon exploded on Tuesday.
Lebanon’s health minister said as many as 2,800 had been wounded. Some 300 people are in critical condition, with injuries to their eyes and face, while some have had body parts amputated.
The senior source said the militant group had ordered 5,000 beepers which several other sources said were brought into Lebanon in the spring.
They claimed the devices had been modified by Israel’s spy service “at the production level”.
Another security source told Reuters up to 3g of explosives were hidden in the new pagers that went “undetected” by Hezbollah for months.
Lebanese officials laid the blame on “Israeli aggression”, while Hezbollah promised to retaliate, insisting Israel would receive “its fair punishment” for the blasts.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in a cross-border conflict since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October – sparking the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza – fuelling fears of a wider war in the Middle East.
Israel’s Mossad spy agency planted a small amount of explosives inside thousands of pagers ordered by Hezbollah months before the devices exploded, a Lebanese security source has told the Reuters news agency.
The senior source said the militant group had ordered 5,000 beepers which several other sources said were brought into Lebanon in the spring.
The same source claimed that the devices had been modified by Israel’s spy service “at the production level”.
A second security source told Reuters that up to 3g of explosives were hidden in the new pagers that went “undetected” by Hezbollah for months.
Details from the Reuters report are similar to one by the New York Times, which cited American and other officials.
Images of the destroyed devices analysed by Reuters showed a format and stickers that were consistent with the AR-924 model of pagers with Gold Apollo branding – a Taiwan-based company.
The firm’s founder Hsu Ching-Kuang said the devices were actually made under licence in Europe by a firm called BAC, using the Gold Apollo name.
In a statement given to Sky News in Taiwan, the company said: “Apollo Gold Corporation has established a long-term private label authorisation and regional agency cooperation with BAC.
Advertisement
“According to the agreement, we authorise BAC to use our brand trademark for production sales in specific regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are entirely handled by BAC.”
Apollo Gold declined to give further details of the European firm.
The model, like other pagers, wirelessly receives and displays text messages but cannot make telephone calls.
Firas Abiad said 200 of the 2,750 wounded were in a critical condition.
Lebanese officials laid the blame on “Israeli aggression”, while Hezbollah promised to retaliate insisting Israel would receive “its fair punishment” for the blasts.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:26
‘Around 2,750’ injured in pager blasts
The Israeli military, which has been engaged in cross-border fighting with Hezbollah since the start of the war in Gaza in October last year, has refused to respond to questions about the detonations.
Experts broadly agree that the blasts do not look like a typical lithium battery fire.
Keren Elazari, a hacker and security researcher at Tel Aviv University, told Sky News: “There is no remote hacking capability that could generate that kind of kinetic explosion… some sort of a physical explosive component was probably part of the equation.”
Bomb disposal expert and former British army officer Chris Hunter added that his initial theory – based on injuries – suggests the blasts are “consistent with one to two ounces of high explosive”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:39
Ambulances at scene of pagers explosion
“We’ve seen this sort of similar MO [particular method] with mobile devices before,” he said, pointing to the assassination of Hamas master bomb maker Yahya Ayyash whose mobile phone had been laced with a small amount of explosives.
Hezbollah fighters would have considered pagers a lo-fi, harder to infiltrate alternative to mobile phones, according to Sky News’s Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall.
It comes after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah previously warned the group’s members in February not to carry mobile phones because Israel could use them to track their movements.