The Secret Service has arrested a man who was pointing a gun inside Donald Trump’s Palm Beach golf course in Florida while the former president was inside. One of Trump’s agents was able to spot the barrel of the rifle through one of the fences at the compound and that’s when he opened fire on the man, the Secret Service said in a press conference after the incident. Trump is safe and unharmed. The FBI has already reported that it is investigating the case as an “attempted murder,” according to the Associated Press.
The suspect in the alleged attack is Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old white man who was apparently holding an AK-47 rifle through the fence of the Republican’s golf course. Routh was deeply committed to the Ukrainian cause – he spent several months in Ukraine during the war, he said in an interview with the newspaper. New York Times– and had criticized both Donald Trump and Joe Biden on social media.
Trump was playing golf one hole behind the Secret Service agent on Sunday when the incident occurred shortly before 2 p.m. local time. It has not yet been confirmed whether the individual actually opened fire during the incident. “We are not clear whether the individual was able to return fire at our agents,” said Rafael Barros, the special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Miami field office. The individual was armed with an AK-47, which has a range of about 650 meters. According to the FBI, Trump was about 475 meters from where the suspect was standing with the weapon at the time.
In addition to the rifle, officers also found two backpacks and a GoPro camera next to the fence. The man initially tried to flee in a van until police finally managed to arrest him. “Fortunately, an eyewitness saw a person flee in a black Nissan. He took a photo of the vehicle, which showed the license plate. That was very helpful,” Sheriff Ric Bradshaw explained during the press conference.
Further details on the suspect’s motives are not yet known and the FBI has asked the public to contact authorities if they have any information that could be useful to the investigation. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office has reported that there were no injuries following the shooting in the vicinity of the club.
Tensions rise in a turbulent campaign
The threat level is “high,” Barros warned. The incident has once again raised tensions in the midst of a turbulent campaign that already experienced its first turning point with the attack on Trump last July in Butler, Pennsylvania. On that occasion, the shooter, Thomas Crooks, fired up to six bullets, one of which grazed the tycoon’s right ear. Another shot claimed the life of one of the attendees.
“I AM SAFE AND HAPPY! No one was hurt. Thank God. I appreciate having your support,” Trump said in a text message to supporters on Sunday, confirming that he is unharmed. “There are people in this world who will do whatever it takes to stop us, I will not stop fighting for you. I will never give up! I will always love you for supporting me. Through our UNITY we will Make America Great Again.”
Trump had traveled to the facility this weekend after participating in several campaign events last Friday. The former president’s club occupies several blocks in West Palm Beach, but several of the holes on the course that Trump played this Sunday are very close to the streets that surround it, so it is possible to see the facilities from them. The suspect, according to the Associated Press, would have thrown the rifle within the perimeter of the golf course. According to the agency, Trump’s presence usually requires the partial closure of the course as well as the presence of Secret Service agents in vehicles around the course to protect the Republican.
Even though the Butler attack had been put on the back burner after Joe Biden’s resignation and the emergence of Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate, Trump has continued to capitalize on the shooting at his rallies. Just five days ago, he raised the tone during the presidential debate and accused prime time Democrats for being behind the Butler incident. Recently, his wife Melania Trump has also shared videos that fuel conspiracy theories surrounding the case.
Since the Butler attack, the Secret Service’s performance has been under scrutiny. In fact, Kimberly Cheatle, the then director of the intelligence agency, ended up resigning in the wake of the case at the end of July. She said that the assassination attempt was the agency’s “biggest operational failure” “in decades.” After this, the Secret Service approved a plan to increase Trump’s security, which includes the use of bulletproof glass screens at his events abroad.
Now, this new episode threatens to further increase the likelihood of political violence in the country and relegates Trump’s painful defeat against Harris during the debate organized by the ABC News network last Tuesday to a secondary role.
Biden vows ‘every resource’ to protect Trump
The White House said in a statement that President Joe Biden and Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris have been briefed “on the security incident at Trump International Golf Course, where former President Trump was playing. They are relieved to know that he is safe. His team will keep them updated regularly.”
“A suspect is in custody, and I commend the work of the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners for their vigilance and efforts to keep the former President and those around him safe. I am relieved that the former President is unharmed,” Biden said in a statement. The Democrat also noted that he has ordered his team to “continue to ensure that the Secret Service has all the resources, capacity, and protective measures necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety.”
Source: www.eldiario.es
