Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was reportedly identified as the would-be assassin who targeted former President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course on Sunday (September 15), law enforcement sources confirmed to the New York Post.
Routh, who attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, but moved to Hawaii around 2018, according to his LinkedIn account, is reported to have frequently championed left-wing causes on his social media accounts. A motive for the shooting hasn’t been determined.
Trump was targeted in an assassination attempt for the second time in two months, the FBI confirmed to CNN in a statement on Sunday. A Secret Service agent reportedly opened fire on a man spotted with an AK-47 assault rifle while Trump was playing golf, which caused the suspect to flee.
The suspect was detained by the West Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office after a traffic stop on I-95. Trump confirmed that “there were gunshots in my vicinity” but noted that he was “SAFE AND WELL” in a campaign alert to his supporters on Sunday.
Sources previously told the New York Post that two people exchanged gunfire and targeting each other, not Trump, outside Trump International Golf Course West Palm Beach and that the former president was reportedly never in danger at the club, which is located in an area known for a high crime rate. The incident took place two months after Trump was targeted in an assassination attempt during his rally in Pennsylvania.
Trump’s right ear was grazed during the shooting and he was seen yelling “fight” to his supporters while being evacuated from the rally by Secret Service members. One spectator, identified as Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed during the incident while two others, David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, and James Copenhaver, 74, were initially critically wounded but later upgraded to stable condition.
The shooter, Thomas Crooks, was taken out by Secret Service agents within seconds from opening fire, though also reported to be on officials’ radar as a suspicious person more than 90 minutes before opening fire. Trump officially accepted the Republican presidential nomination during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 18.
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