By Al Jazeera Staff

Published On 16 Sep 202416 Sep 2024

• The incident took place at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. It is located about 4 miles (6.5km) from Trump’s Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago.
• Bradshaw said Trump was approximately 400-500 yards (366-457 metres) away from Trump. According to him, that distance falls within the range of the weapon — coupled with the scope — that the suspect had. After that, Trump returned to Mar-a-Lago.

Who is Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect?

• The suspect was identified by US media as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58.
• According to a report by The Associated Press news agency, he spent most of his life in North Carolina before moving to Kaaawa, Hawaii, in 2018. In Hawaii, he and his son ran a company specialising in building sheds, according to an archived version of the webpage for the business.
• In 2023, Routh was interviewed by The New York Times for an article about Americans volunteering to support the war effort in Ukraine.
• During the interview, he revealed that he travelled to Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion to recruit soldiers for the war “from among Afghan soldiers who fled the Taliban”.
• He also mentioned visiting Washington, DC to meet politicians to bolster support for Ukraine.
• “We can probably purchase some passports through Pakistan since it’s such a corrupt country,” he told the NYT.

• In a post on X in June 2020, Routh indicated he had voted for Trump in 2016, but had since become disillusioned with the billionaire politician. In many recent posts, he has expressed support for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
• But his political positions appear to have stayed complex. In July, following the assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania, the AP reported that Routh urged Biden and Harris, on X, to visit those wounded in the shooting at the hospital and attend the funeral of a firefighter killed at the rally. There is no evidence that either Biden or Harris was aware of Routh’s message to them.
• According to a CNN report, his son Oran Routh said he hopes everything has “just been blown out of proportion” and it is not like his father “to do anything crazy, much less violent”. He called his father “a loving and caring father, and honest hardworking man”.

Is Trump safe, what has he said?

• Trump said he is well and safe. “FEAR NOT! I am safe and well, and no one was hurt. Thank God!” Trump said in a statement on his fundraising website.
• “But, there are people in this world who will do whatever it takes to stop us. I will not stop fighting for you. I will Never Surrender.”
• “I will always love you for supporting me,” the statement added. “Through our UNITY we will Make America Great Again.”
• The Trump campaign has so far not indicated that there will be any changes to his schedule in light of today’s events. Trump is set to hold a town hall in Flint, Michigan, on Tuesday night.

What happened in the first assassination attempt against Trump?

• Trump survived an assassination attempt on July 13 during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
• Gunshots rang out as he spoke on the stage. A bullet grazed his ear. Trump took cover, with Secret Service agents diving on top of him. He then stood up, bearing a bloody ear and pumping his fist. “Fight, fight, fight,” he said.
• It was later revealed that 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks had opened fire from a nearby rooftop, raising questions over how the Secret Service had secured the area. Crooks was fatally shot by a Secret Service agent at the scene.

Is this increasing the pressure on the Secret Service?

• The assassination attempt in July led to increased scrutiny of the Secret Service.
• It raised questions about how law enforcement agents allowed an armed attacker on a nearby rooftop from where the shot was fired. The fallout from the attack saw US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resign.
• Sunday’s incident is expected to lead to even more scrutiny of the agency’s functioning, said Colin Clarke, the director of research at the Soufan Group, a New York-based strategic security and intelligence consultancy.
• “I think every layer of what the Secret Service does is going to be scrutinised, and rightfully so,” Clarke told Al Jazeera. “We should demand that as American citizens, as taxpayers, that we hold these agencies and institutions to the high account.”

What have been the reactions to the alleged assassination bid in Florida?

• President Biden commended the work of the Secret Service. “I am relieved that the former President is unharmed,” he added.

• Vice President Harris said she was “disturbed” as she condemned “political violence”.

• Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz said he was glad Trump was safe, adding that violence had no place in the US.

• Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance also expressed relief, adding that he would be “hugging my kids extra tight tonight and saying a prayer of gratitude”.

• Mexico’s president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum, and the outgoing president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, condemned Sunday’s incident. “We condemn the aggression against ex-President Trump. Peace must always guide the processes of democracy,” Sheinbaum, who will assume the Mexican presidency from Lopez Obrador on October 1, posted on X.

• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was shocked after hearing about the assassination attempt.

• Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz questioned why Trump was targeted for the second time in a few months. “We need to know why this keeps happening,” Gaetz wrote on X.

• Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik wondered how the alleged gunman was able to “get this close” to Trump. “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,” she said in a statement.