Shots were fired near Donald Trump’s golf club in Florida as the Republican presidential candidate played golf, with the FBI announcing it was investigating an “alleged assassination attempt against former President Trump.”

Law enforcement officials said at a news conference that they arrested a suspect who was spotted by US Secret Service agents with an AK-47-style assault weapon outside the Trump National Golf Course.

According to relevant sources, this is about the 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh. According to his Linkedin profile he studied at Agricultural and Technical State University in North Carolina and moved to Hawaii in 2018. On Linkedin he describes himself as a “mechanical mind” who enjoys “ideas, inventions and creative projects with an artistic bent.” Although he hasn’t posted on X in the last year, he has often criticized politicians like Donald Trump and Joe Biden as well as artists like Bruno Mars.

He also appears to be a strong supporter of Ukraine and Taiwan, in their conflicts with Russia and China respectively. He has visited Kiev and claimed he would fight on the front lines if allowed.

The gunman was in bushes near the property line of Trump’s golf course when Secret Service agents spotted a barrel. Secret Service agents fired shots and the suspect fled in a black SUV.

Specifically, agents fired at least four times around 1:30 p.m. local time. The gunman then dropped his rifle, two backpacks and other items and fled in a black Nissan car. A witness, the sheriff said, saw the gunman and was able to take pictures of the car and its license plate.

Golf Trump

The former president’s life was not in danger.

Authorities then alerted state agencies with information about the vehicle, which led sheriff’s deputies in neighboring Martin County to stop and arrest the suspect on I-95.

“We have someone in custody right now,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw said.

Trump sent an email to his list of campaign donors saying “there have been shots fired in close proximity to where I am, but before the rumors start to get out of hand, I want you to hear this first: I’m safe and well!” he wrote in capital letters. , according to an email seen by Reuters.

Initially, Trump’s campaign team announced, without giving details, that the Republican former president was safe after multiple shootings that occurred close to where he was. The former president, who was at his golf club in Florida, is “safe and sound following a shooting that occurred near him,” campaign communications director Stephen Chung said.

The New York Post, citing police sources, reported that two people exchanged gunfire outside his golf club in Florida. “Sources stressed that at no time was Trump’s life in danger,” the paper said.

Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., citing local law enforcement, said in a post on X that an AK-47 assault rifle was found in bushes and a suspect was arrested.

Trump was injured in an assassination attempt on him in Pennsylvania on July 13.

USA: Biden and Kamala Harris express relief that Trump is safe

US President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris said they were “relieved” that Donald Trump is “safe and sound”.

According to a statement from the White House, “the president and vice president were informed of the security incident at the Trump International golf course (in Florida), where the former president was playing golf. They are relieved to learn that he is safe and sound. They will be regularly updated by their teams.”

At the same time, in a separate post, Vice President Kamala Harris condemned the “violence” in the US on the occasion of the incident that occurred near