Confusion reigns over Trump shooting incident at golf course, presenting an odd case of an 'attempted 'assassination' with no clearly identifiable shooter

Ryan Wesley Routh (X)

A Florida man, in custody on charges that he attempted to assassinate former President Donald Trump as he played golf yesterday afternoon at his private course near West Palm Beach, was a supporter of Ukraine and had written critically online about Trump's positions on the war that seemed to favor Russia. 

According to a report at Yahoo! News, the chaotic scene began to unfold at about noon EST when reports about the U.S. Secret Service being involved in a "protective incident" began to circulate online. Reports soon appeared that the incident's location was Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, where the course's proprietor was in the early stages of his round.

The suspect was identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58. Ironically, he had voted for Trump in 2016 and currently was registered as an unaffiliated voter. Reporting on the incident tended to be sketchy, likely because it was a confusing situation with a bevy of facts becoming known in quick succession. For example, Routh is facing charges of attempted assassination, but CBS reported it is unknown if he fired any shots, in the direction of Trump, the golf course, or anywhere else. Also, some reports said Secret Service agents noticed something amiss when they saw a rifle being pointed through a hole in a fence. But other articles indicated agents could not see Routh, or anyone else in that area, because of heavy shrubbery surrounding much of the golf course.

CBS did unearth details about Routh's background, which includes a number of run-ins with the law. From the CBS report:

His most recent address is listed in Hawaii, but he spent most of his life in North Carolina, according to property records. Routh owned Camp Box Honolulu, a shed-building company, according to his LinkedIn profile. The account also says that he studied at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and graduated in 1998. 

Records show Routh's issues with the law go back to the 1990s and include lesser charges of writing bad checks. But in 2002 he was charged with possession of a weapon of mass destruction, a felony, according to North Carolina Department of Corrections records. In another incident, he was charged with misdemeanors, including a hit-and-run offense, resisting arrest, and a concealed weapons violation, the records show.

Suspect criticized Trump online 

Routh voted Democratic in the 2024 primary election in North Carolina, and he voted in person, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. He appears to be registered as an unaffiliated voter. 

His X account, which has now been suspended, included a number of posts about Trump. 

"@realDonaldTrump While you were my choice in 2106, I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving," he wrote in a June 2020 post. "I will be glad when you  are gone."

BBC News provided probably the most clear and comprehensive report on events surrounding the alleged assassination attempt under the headline "What we know about the Trump attack and the suspect." Malu Cursino writes:

Former President Donald Trump was rushed to safety on Sunday after what the FBI called an apparent assassination attempt at Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach.

The incident comes almost exactly two months after a shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, which left Trump wounded and one supporter dead.

Details are still emerging from the latest incident and about the suspect, named by US media as Ryan Routh. Here is what we know so far.

How was the suspect spotted?

The incident unfolded at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, about 15 minutes from Trump's Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago.

The gunman was first seen by Secret Service agents, who were sweeping the course ahead of the former president as he played. The agents usually go one hole ahead to perform security checks, according to police.

The muzzle of a rifle - initially described as an AK-47-style rifle by County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw - was spotted sticking through the shrubbery that lines the course. At the time Trump was about 300-500 yards (272-557m) away from the gunman, he said.

An agent “immediately engaged” with the person holding the rifle, who fled, Sheriff Bradshaw said.

"The Secret Service did exactly what should have been done."

How was the suspect caught?

Agents opened fire when they spotted the gunman and fired four to five rounds of ammunition.

The suspect dropped the rifle and fled in a vehicle, abandoning the weapon along with two knapsacks, a scope used for aiming a weapon and a GoPro camera, Sheriff Bradshaw said.

A witness saw the man flee from the shrubbery to a black Nissan, the sheriff said. The witness captured a photo of the car and provided it to law enforcement.

The suspect was apprehended by police driving northbound on the I-95 highway after crossing into Martin County, roughly 61km (38 miles) from Trump's golf course.

Several law enforcement sources have told the BBC's US partner, CBS News, that the suspect's name is Ryan Wesley Routh.

Who is Ryan Routh?

Details on the suspect's history are slowly emerging.

Speaking to US media, Mr Routh's son, Oran, described him as a "loving and caring father".

"I don’t know what has 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," Oran said in a statement to CNN.

BBC Verify has found social media profiles matching that name. They indicate that Routh called for foreign fighters to go to Ukraine to battle against Russian forces.

There are also pro-Palestinian, pro-Taiwan and anti-China messages on his profile, including allegations about Chinese “biological warfare” and references to the Covid-19 virus as an “attack”.

Mr Routh, who had no military experience, told The New York Times in 2023 he had travelled to Ukraine immediately after Russia's invasion in 2022 to find military recruits among Afghan soldiers who had fled the Taliban.

He seems to have been involved in recruitment efforts as recently as this summer, writing on Facebook in July: "Soldiers, please do not call me. We are still trying to get Ukraine to accept Afghan soldiers and hope to have some answers in the coming months... please have patience."

Early reporting suggests Mr Routh had a criminal record. According to CBS sources, Ryan Routh was charged and convicted of numerous felony offences in Guilford County in North Carolina between 2002 and 2010.

The offenes include carrying a concealed weapon, resisting arrest by a police officer, driving with a revoked licence, possession of stolen property and hit and run with a motor vehicle.

What happened to Trump?

Trump was not injured during the incident.

Shortly after the incident was confirmed by his campaign team, the Republican issued a statement to his fundraising list, which read: "There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumours start spiralling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL".

Trump gave his account to Fox News anchor Sean Hannity, who retold the episode on air on Sunday.

“They were on the fifth hole, they were about to go up to putt,” Mr Hannity said.

The former president heard "pop pop, pop pop", he said. "Within seconds, the Secret Service pounced on the president [and] covered him."

He added that a steel-reinforced vehicle soon whisked Trump away to safety.

What happens next?

During the same news conference with the sheriff, Jeffrey Veltri from the FBI Miami Field Office said the bureau was leading investigations alongside other law enforcement agencies.

"We’ve deployed a number of resources, including investigative teams, crisis response team members, bomb technicians and evidence response team members," Veltri said, adding that the "full resources of the FBI" alongside the US Secret Service, the Palm Beach Sheriff's office and Martin County Sheriff's office were mobilised.

The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, who is the Democratic presidential candidate, had been briefed about the incident and were relieved to know that he was safe.

"I am deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt of former President Trump today," Harris said in a statement.

Leaders from the bipartisan congressional task force set up to investigate the 13 July assassination attempt in Pennsylvania said they were thankful the former president was not harmed, "but remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in all of its forms".

Republican congressman Mike Kelly and Democrat Jason Crow said the task force has requested a briefing with the Secret Service to understand "what happened and how security responded".

Secret Service's Rafael Barros told reporters on Sunday measures had been taken since the previous assassination attempt and "the threat level is high".

The first court appearance for Mr Routh is expected on Monday, at the Palm Beach County courthouse near Mar-a-Lago.

For now, Sunday's events raise about as many questions as answers. For example, Trump himself reported hearing "pop, pop, pop" noises, but we've seen no reports in the press so far that indicate the popping sounds came from Routh's direction. As noted earlier, CBS reports that it isn't known if Routh fired any shots. That seems to make this a peculiar assassination case -- one where there is little, if any, evidence that the alleged gunman fired a shot. We suspect to see a lot of follow-up reporting in the coming days because this story, as it stands now, seems to have plenty of holes.