AK-47 Gunman With Scope Got in Range of Trump as He Golfed

An apparent assassin got within 500 yards of former President Donald Trump as he golfed in West Palm Beach on Sunday, according to Florida authorities and the FBI.

Hidden in bushes near the property line of the Trump International Golf Club, a suspect with an AK-47-style rifle and scope was spotted by a Secret Service agent moving one hole ahead of the former president, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.

The sheriff explained at a Sunday afternoon news conference that the agent “engaged” the gunman, who fled the scene. A witness quickly came forward to say they’d seen the suspect jump into a black Nissan and take off—but not before the witness took photographs of its plates.

Authorities were able to track the Nissan to a highway leading into neighboring Martin County, where local officers made a traffic stop and subsequent arrest, Bradshaw said.

“There was a lone driver in the vehicle. That driver is now in custody,” Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder told local station WPLG on Sunday, adding he was “relatively calm” and “not displaying a lot of emotions.”

The alleged gunman was later identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, three law enforcement sources told the Associated Press .

The rifle, two backpacks, and a GoPro camera were recovered from the bushes, according to the sheriff. Meanwhile, the witness was quickly flown up to Martin County, where they positively identified the arrested individual as the gunman.

Bradshaw estimated that Trump had gotten within 300 and 500 feet of the would-be assassin. “With a rifle and a scope like that, that’s not a long distance,” he added.

An investigation, led by the FBI, remains ongoing.

In a brief statement issued several hours earlier, Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said that Trump “is safe following gunshots in his vicinity.” He did not offer any further details.

In an email blast to supporters, Trump was quoted as saying, “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL.

“Nothing will slow me down,” he went on. “I will NEVER SURRENDER!”

Fox News reported that Trump, who’d been golfing with real estate developer Steve Witkoff, was annoyed about the interruption to his game.

“The first thing the president did when he got back to the clubhouse was make sure that everybody else was OK,” said Sean Hannity, a longtime friend and confidante of the former president.

“Then, when the president found out everybody was safe and nobody had been harmed, I guess in typical fight-fight-fight fashion, Trump said to Steve—and then he relayed it to me—‘Oh, I really wanted to finish the hole.’”

Trump was back at Mar-a-Lago by Sunday evening, a person briefed on the matter told The New York Times .

The White House said that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been briefed on the incident and would be kept regularly updated by their teams.

“I am glad he is safe,” Harris added in a statement on her X account. “Violence has no place in America.” Later in a statement, she said, “As we gather the facts, I will be clear: I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence. I am thankful that former President Trump is safe.”

The New York Post had earlier reported that the former president was “never in danger,” and that the gunfire had come from two individuals shooting at one another outside the club. (The Post later retracted those details.)

The Daily Beast has reached out to the Trump campaign, the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Department, and the U.S. Secret Service for further information.

Read more at The Daily Beast.