Everything we know so far about second apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump

The US presidential election campaign has again been thrown into further turmoil after the second assassination attempt in as many months on the Republican candidate Donald Trump.
The FBI is investigating what it terms as “an attempted assassination” attempt on the former president while he played golf at his club in West Palm Beach on Sunday afternoon. An advance secret service agent, covering ahead of Mr Trump’s golf group, which had finished play at hole five, noticed a weapon protruding from bushes adjacent to the course and opened fire.
Hole six on the course runs close to the perimeter of the course and the tee-box is close to Summit Avenue, where the would-be assailant was in hiding. A nearby witness noticed a male fleeing the scene and took note of his appearance, car make and identification plates.
That car was stopped in nearby Martin County and the driver was taken to custody. He was named last night as Ryan Wesley Routh (58).
A semi-automatic rifle, two back packs containing ceramic tiles and a Go-Pro camera were found attached to the chain-link fence at the location the suspect had fled. Mr Trump was escorted to Mar-a-Lago, where the surrounding road network was reduced to complete lockdown, after the incident and released a statement through his campaign team.
“There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumours start spiralling out of control, I want you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL! Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER. I will always love you for supporting me.”
The latest violent incident will heighten the sense of fear and even paranoia in what has been a fraught election campaign. It will sharpen the memory of the shooting attempt on Mr Trump in Pennsylvania in July, during which a bullet grazed the former president’s ear and in which a supporter at the rally, Corey Competore (50), was killed.
The would-be assassin in Pennsylvania, Thomas Crooks (20), was killed by a sniper but questions and recriminations over the security arrangements for that outdoor event continue. On Sunday evening, Republican congresswoman for New York Elise Stefanik issued a statement drawing a parallel between that shooting and Sunday’s incident.
[ Ryan Wesley Routh: What do we know about suspected Trump gunman?Opens in new window ]
“There continues to be a lack of answers for the horrific assassination attempt in Pennsylvania and we expect there to be a clear explanation of what happened today in Florida.”
That this latest foiled assassination happened in the relative seclusion or Mr Trump’s own golf course will lead to questions as to how a would-be gunman managed to come within such close proximity of a former president and presidential candidate who has already been the target of a recent assassination attempt.
President Joe Biden said through a statement that he is “relieved that the former president was unharmed” and repeated the statement issued in July after the shooting in Butler that “there is no place for political violence or any violence ever in our country.”
The fraught and often reckless rhetoric of the election will also come under renewed scrutiny. Mr Trump had come under heavy criticism over the weekend for repeating unfounded rumours about animal-killing by the Haitian community living in Springfield, Ohio, during last week’s presidential debate with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
House speaker Mike Johnson reported on social media that he and his wife had visited Mar-a-Lago after the incident. “No leader in American history has endured more attacks and remained so strong and resilient, He is unstoppable.”
A profile began to emerge of Mr Routh on Sunday evening. In a New York Times interview last year, Mr Routh had he had travelled to Ukraine after the invasion by Russia to recruit Afghan solders to the Ukrainian cause. A frequent social media user, he also claimed to have visited Washington, DC, to urge politicians to commit to stronger Ukrainian support.
He has several previous arrest charges relating to time spent living in Greensboro, North Carolina, and had a gun charge dating back to 2002. His son told CNN last night that he did not have “any comment beyond a character profile of him as a loving and caring father, and an honest hardworking man”.
“I don’t know what happened in Florida, and I hope things have just been blown out of proportion because from the little I’ve heard it doesn’t sound like the man I know to do anything crazy, much less violent.”
The incident will place intense scrutiny on the security arrangements for all campaign rallies in the days and weeks ahead. Mr. Trump is scheduled to take part in a public appearance in Flint, Michigan, on Tuesday and Long Island, New York, on Wednesday.