Suspect in apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump did not fire weapon – Secret Service
The suspect in an apparent assassination attempt against former US president Donald Trump did not fire his weapon, the Secret Service has said.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, is facing federal gun charges after he was arrested on Sunday afternoon following the incident at West Palm Beach golf course in Florida, where Mr Trump was playing.
A Secret Service agent spotted a rifle poking through the bushes and opened fire on the suspect.
Routh is alleged to have fled the scene in a car before being captured in a neighbouring county, and has now been charged with firearm offences, authorities said.
It has been just nine weeks since the Republican presidential nominee survived another attempt on his life.
Jeffrey B Veltri, special agent in charge of the FBI Miami Field Office, told reporters at a news conference that officers are investigating the matter as an “apparent assassination attempt”.
It has been nine weeks since Trump survived another attempt on his life. Pic: AP
He said several witnesses at the scene have been interviewed adding that “the evidence response team is collecting multiple items” while “DNA has also been collected”.
Mr Veltri also confirmed Routh had numerous charges for handling stolen goods between 1997 and 2010, and was investigated in 2019 when someone reported he had a firearm – he was prohibited from possessing a weapon because of prior convictions.
The FBI is investigating at Donald Trump’s golf club in Florida. Pic: Reuters
So far, authorities do not believe Routh was acting with anyone else, but say he had an active online presence and are compiling details of the subject’s movements in weeks before his arrest.
Mobile phone data shows he was in the area of the golf course roughly 12 hours before the Secret Service opened fire.
US attorney for the southern district of Florida, Markenzy Lapointe, described the investigation as being “still at the early stages”.
He said officers had already found a digital camera, a backpack, a rifle and a black plastic bag containing food at the scene.
Ronald Rowe Jr said the suspect did not have a line of sight to Mr Trump
Read more:
Ryan Routh: What we know about the suspect
Bodycam video shows moment Trump suspect is arrested
Biden reacts to second attempt on former president’s life
Acting director Ronald Rowe Jr of the United States Secret Service (USSS) gave more details about the circumstances leading to the arrest of Routh.
He said a Secret Service agent who was sweeping the golf course saw the alleged gunman and “immediately discharged his firearm”.
“The subject who did not have a line of sight to Mr Trump fled the scene. He did not fire any shots at our agent,” he added. Mr Trump was then moved to a safe location.
He explained that following the assassination attempt on Mr Trump in July, the Secret Service “increased assets”.
“In the days that followed, Joe Biden made it clear he wanted the highest levels of protection for Mr Trump and Kamala Harris,” he said.
Mr Rowe confirmed he spoke to the former president and said Mr Trump was “aware that he has the highest levels of protection” from the agency.
He also said the golf trip was not on Mr Trump’s schedule, so they put together a security plan.
Authorities are pursuing and executing search warrants for mobile phones, a vehicle and electronics belonging to Routh, an FBI official said.
Israel has approved a plan to capture all of the Gaza Strip and remain there for an unspecified length of time, Israeli officials say.
According to Reuters, the plan includes distributing aid, though supplies will not be let in yet.
The Israeli official told the agency that the newly approved offensive plan would move Gaza’s civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas’s hands.
On Sunday, the United Nations rejected what it said was a new plan for aid to be distributed in what it described as Israeli hubs.
Israeli cabinet ministers approved plans for the new offensive on Monday morning, hours after it was announced that tens of thousands of reserve soldiers are being called up.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far failed to achieve his goal of destroying Hamas or returning all the hostages, despite more than a year of brutal war in Gaza.
Palestinian children struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza. Pic: AP
Officials say the plan will help with these war aims but it would also push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
They said the plan included the “capturing of the strip and the holding of territories”.
It would also try to prevent Hamas from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza.
The UN rejected the plan, saying it would leave large parts of the population, including the most vulnerable, without supplies.
It said it “appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
IDF reservists call for end to war in Gaza
Read more:
Israeli pilots’ letter reveals deepening rift
Seriously ill children from Gaza allowed into UK
More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the IDF launched its ground offensive in the densely-populated territory, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
It followed the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
A fragile ceasefire that saw a pause in the fighting and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners collapsed earlier this year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.
A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.
“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”
Israeli police officers investigate the missile crater. Pic: Reuters
The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.
Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.
Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.
The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.
Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.
Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.
Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.
Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway