On Sunday, while playing golf on his club in West Palm Beach, Florida, the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was spared from what the FBI described as a possible assassination attempt thanks to the actions of the Secret Service.
A gunman was observed a few hundred yards from where Trump was playing when he was spotted in bushes close to the golf course’s property boundary, and several Secret Service agents opened fire on him, according to law enforcement officials.
After leaving an assault rifle akin to an AK-47 and other stuff behind, the suspect drove off and was apprehended.
Two months had passed since Trump was shot during a Pennsylvania campaign event, inflicting a small injury to his right ear. This appears to be an attempt on his life.
“I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes – It was certainly an interesting day!,” Trump posted on social media late on Sunday. He also thanked the police and Secret Service for keeping him safe.
With just over seven weeks until the election on November 5, both instances demonstrate the difficulties in ensuring the safety of presidential candidates in a fiercely heated and divided campaign.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii was named as the suspect by CNN, Fox News, and the New York Times, all of which cited anonymous law enforcement sources. Agents from the Secret Service and Homeland Security conducted a late-night search in a residence in Greensboro, North Carolina, that a neighbor verified belonged to Routh.
There will undoubtedly be further inquiries about Trump’s level of protection in the wake of the attempted assassination. Officials admitted that the entire golf course was not blocked off because Trump is not in office in response to a reporter’s question.
