What is known about the attempted assassination of Trump

For the second time in two months, there has been a Assassination attempt on the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump given – this time on one of his golf courses in Florida. Trump remained different from eight weeks ago in Butler/Pennsylvania unharmed.

The Secret Service fired shots at the suspect (58), who was armed with a semi-automatic rifle. He was later arrested.

Here is an overview of what we know and what we don’t know about the incident that has once again sparked horror and blame in the USA:

What happened?

According to preliminary investigations by the police and FBI, the perpetrator managed to get through bushes and rows of trees to the fence of the golf resort, while Trump was there together with the wealthy party donor Steve Witkof played a game at around 1:30 p.m. local time and was located between holes 5 and 7 on the eastern edge of the large area.

A Secret Service agent, who was scouting the area as an advance guard, spotted a gun barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately opened fire, but missed. Trump and his companions were immediately brought to the ground and shortly afterwards driven away unharmed in a golf cart.

According to the current state of the investigation, the perpetrator himself, who according to the Secret Service was between 270 and 450 meters away from Trump, did not fire any shots. However, some media outlets report that several shots were fired in Trump’s direction.

The perpetrator fled in a black Nissan, which was noticed by a witness on the road in front of the golf course. The witness photographed the car and the license plate. According to the responsible sheriff, this enabled Ric Bradshaw the quick identification of the car, which was stopped a short time later about 65 kilometers away in Martin County on the Interstate Highway I 95. The perpetrator surrendered without resistance and, according to the police, appeared composed and calm.

Before fleeing, he left behind the weapon – a semi-automatic rifle equipped with a telescopic sight – a GoPro camera, which he presumably wanted to use to film his assassination, Sheriff Bradshaw said, and two bags filled with, among other things, ceramic tiles.

There is still no final clarity about the type of weapon. The authorities spoke of an AK-47. Weapons experts, however, said it was a 7.62 mm SKS rifle of Russian design, which can be legally purchased in the USA. Even with the use of a telescopic sight, it is not a precision weapon suitable for long distances, said the weapons expert. N. R. Jenzen-Jones the Washington Post.

What do we know about the suspect?

The one described by renowned US media as Ryan Wesley Routh The man identified comes from North Carolina, has lived in Hawaii and Orlando/Florida and was a roofer by trade. The 58-year-old supports the Democratic Party, according to donation receipts. Routh leaves a broad footprint on social media.

Sometimes he rails against Israel’s policy towards the Palestinians. Sometimes he promises to recruit fighters for the Ukrainian defensive war against Russia, both in Kiev and in Washington. In particular, he wanted to recruit Afghan soldiers who had fled the Taliban as mercenaries for Ukraine. On social media, he expressed his willingness to go to war and die for Kiev himself. He used this diction in a 2023 report by the New York Times about volunteers in the USA who would take up arms for Ukraine.

Routh wrote that he was for Trump in 2016, but later became extremely disappointed with his presidency. “I can’t wait until you’re gone.” However, there are no reports of violent or even death threats against the former president. Several of Routh’s social media accounts were blocked on Sunday evening. District Attorney David Aronberg plans to file the necessary arrest warrant and a motion for detention before the trial begins today.

How did Trump react?

Immediately with statements to selected journalists such as Fox News presenter Sean Hannity: “I’m fine. The Secret Service did a great job. Nothing will stop me. I will never surrender.” Two hours after the events, Trump was driven to his private residence, Mar-a-Lago, ten minutes away. He quickly used the assassination attempt via social media to collect campaign donations. A public reaction from his wife Melania Trump is not yet known.

Have the security authorities failed again?

Thanks to the deployment of Secret Service agents, the potential shooter was identified in time – unlike on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania – even if the shots at him missed their target. However, the fact that someone with a rapid-fire rifle can take up position on the outskirts of a Trump property and only be discovered at the last second raises questions again. The fact is that the area around the golf course would have been more securely secured if Trump were president and not a candidate. The sheriff in charge said this at a press conference.

Republican officials reflexively accused the current administration of not providing Trump with the best possible protection despite the experience of the first assassination attempt in July. The White House denies this. In the evening, President Joe Bidenthat he had given instructions that the Secret Service “has all necessary resources, capabilities and protections to ensure the safety of the former President.”

The Secret Service special unit, which has recently been repeatedly discredited, recently rejected the request for more protection for Trump, partly for reasons of personnel. Secret Service insiders told media representatives that Trump’s passion for golf presented “particular challenges” because golf courses are usually visible to the public and are often located near traffic arteries. This means that the risk of assassination attempts such as those on Sunday can only be reduced by extensive closures of public spaces. But this is not popular, and it is also extremely personnel- and cost-intensive.

What is still unclear?

It is still unclear whether Ryan Wesley Routh fired a shot at Trump, as some media outlets claim, or whether only the Secret Service agent used the weapon.

What reactions are there?

Despite the initially unclear situation, the White House reacted immediately. In a statement, US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris who is running against Trump in November, is “relieved” that Trump was unharmed. “Violence has no place in America,” the administration said. Biden later added: “I commend the work of the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners for their vigilance and efforts to protect the former president and those around him.”

A similar choice of words came from the Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz. Trump’s vice-presidential candidate JD Vance declared that he would pray for Trump. “I am happy that President Trump is safe,” he wrote on the communication platform X. In a conversation with him before the incident became public, Trump was “surprisingly in good spirits.”

The Democratic majority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer said the perpetrator “must be punished with the full force of the law.”