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Ryan Wesley Routh has reportedly been identified as a suspect following a second apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump. NBC News reports that gunshots were fired while Trump was on his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday (Sept. 15).
According to the BBC, a Secret Service agent spotted a riffle barrel near a short distance from where the former president was playing golf.
Per NBC News, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw informed reporters that the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office received a call about gunshots near Trump’s golf course around 1:30 p.m.
Law enforcement officials confirmed that U.S. Secret Service agents fired their weapons after a member of Trump’s Secret Service team spotted the armed suspect.
An eyewitness saw the suspect fleeing the scene in a black Nissan. Authorities found an AR-style rifle with a scope and a GoPro camera in the bushes.
Martin County Sheriff’s Office road control unit later identified and matched the individual’s vehicle and license plates.
“The suspect’s demeanor, I would describe as having a relatively calm, flat affect; he was not displaying a lot of emotions, never asked, ‘What is this about?'” Snyder stated.
Shortly after the incident, Trump’s campaign communications director, Steven Cheung, confirmed he was “safe and unharmed.”
“President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity,” Steven Cheung said in a brief initial statement.
Donald Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance, also addressed the situation on X (formerly Twitter), stating that he spoke to the former president before the news became public.
Then, on the evening of September 15, Trump released his own statement about the incident.
Later that evening, authorities officially identified Routh as the suspected shooter, per NBC News. The outlet reports that Routh is 58 years old and lives in Hawaii. However, he previously resided in North Carolina.
Since the incident, authorities have reportedly released images of the AR-style weapon and GoPro camera Routh allegedly had on him while he was “lying in wait” for Trump. Additionally, authorities believe Routh was previously “convicted of possessing a weapon of mass destruction.”
The second assassination attempt on Trump occurred nearly two months after the first. On July 13, authorities identified a suspect who tried to take Trump’s life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
As The Shade Room previously reported, Thomas Matthew Crooks targeted Trump and was identified as the culprit. NBC News confirmed that Crooks was a registered Republican in Pennsylvania. The Secret Service later confirmed that Thomas Crooks was also killed.
During Trump’s rally, gunshots erupted. A video TSR obtained shows Trump putting his hand to his ear and ducking behind a podium as blood appeared from his ear. ABC17News later reported that a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear.
Although Trump survived without serious injuries, a rally attendee, firefighter Corey Comperatore, lost his life.
