U.S. Secret Service agents fired on a suspect who allegedly pointed a rifle in the direction of former President Donald Trump (R) at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, this afternoon. Trump was not injured. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a statement that the incident “appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”
The suspect has been identified in the press as Ryan Wesley Routh, and social media posts critical of Trump have been found under that name. The suspect initially escaped in a black Nissan, but a witness photographed the vehicle and its license plate. Law enforcement officials spotted the vehicle about fifty miles north on Interstate 95, where they pulled it over and took the suspect into custody.
This attempt on Trump’s life comes about two months after Trump was injured in another assassination attempt. In that case, the suspect was killed by Secret Service snipers.