On Sunday, local and federal officials announced during a press briefing that the Secret Service engaged an allegedly armed individual, an incident that is currently under investigation by FBI officials as a potential second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
The Trump campaign issued a statement on Sunday afternoon confirming that the former president was “safe” following the gunfire that occurred near him while he was at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach. Although the U.S. Secret Service and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department did not disclose the suspect’s identity, they did confirm that he was armed with an AK-47 and other alarming items.
“Fortunately, we were able to locate a witness that came to us and said, ‘Hey, I saw the guy running out of the bushes, he jumped into a black Nissan and I took a picture of the vehicle and the tag,’ which was great. So we had that information. Our real time crime center put it out to the license plate readers and we were able to get a hit on that vehicle on I-95, as it was headed into Martin County,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw stated.
“Now in the bushes, where this guy was, is an AK-47 style rifle with a scope. Two backpacks which were hung on the fence that had ceramic tile in them and a GoPro, which he was going to take pictures of,” Bradshaw continued.
Bradshaw verified that officials were alerted to the incident at approximately 1:30 p.m., indicating that Trump was on the golf course during that time. The local sheriff reported that Secret Service agents advanced ahead of Trump to each hole, which enabled them to identify the suspect, who was seen with “a rifle barrel protruding from the fence,” prompting immediate action against that individual.
Furthermore, the local official mentioned that the former president was situated roughly 300 to 500 yards away from the alleged shooter. While authorities have yet to officially disclose the identity of the shooter, law enforcement sources informed FOX News that the individual in question is named Ryan Wesley Routh.
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