Ryan Wesley Routh, the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, never had the Republican presidential nominee in his sights and did not get off a single shot at the West Palm Beach golf course where he was allegedly lying in wait for nearly 12 hours, authorities said Monday.
Secret Service Acting Director Ron Rowe Jr. said at a news conference Monday afternoon that one of their agents was several hundreds of yards ahead of Trump on Sunday when he spotted a gun barrel poking out from the tree line near the sixth green of Trump International Golf Club and opened fire on the suspect around 1:31 p.m ET.
“He did not fire or get off any shots at our agent,” Rowe said of the suspect, who officials have said was 300-500 yards away from the former president.
Rowe also said that at no time was the former president in the sight line of the suspect.
Asked by ABC News if the Secret Service was able to do a complete security sweep of the golf course before Trump played a round of golf there on Sunday, Rowe said the former president’s movement was considered “off the record,” meaning it wasn’t on his public calendar that he’d be at the Trump International Golf Club on Sunday.
“At this time, it was an off-the-record movement, meaning it was not on the former president’s official schedule,” Rowe told ABC’s Rachel Scott.
Rowe and Jeffery B. Veltri, the agent in charge of the FBI Miami field office, said the investigation has uncovered no information that the suspect knew Trump was going to be at the golf course on Sunday.
However, Rowe said all of the protections, which were enhanced after a July 13 assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, were in place, including counter snipers and aerial surveillance.
Rowe said that since the July 13 assassination attempt, the Secret Service has been working in a “hyperdynamic threat environment.” He said the agency has been “redlining” agents, meaning having them work overtime to protect the candidates.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the Mar-a-Lago Club, Trump’s primary residence in Florida, “is at the highest it can be now.”
Bradshaw said he has spoken to Trump since the incident that the former president told him “he felt safe.”
According to the criminal complaint filed in the case, Routh’s cellphone data tracked him near the tree line of the Trump International Golf Club as early as 1:59 a.m. ET on Sunday.
As Trump was playing a round of golf that afternoon, a Secret Service special agent walking the perimeter of the golf course spotted what appeared to be a rifle poking out of the tree line. The agent then fired in the direction of the rifle and saw Routh fleeing the area and entering his Nissan vehicle, according to the complaint.
In the area of the tree line where the suspect was seen, agents found a digital camera, two bags, including a backpack, and a loaded SKS-style 7.62×39 caliber rifle with a scope, according to the complaint. The serial number on the rifle “was obliterated and unreadable to the naked eye,” the complaint states.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw initially described the weapon found in the tree line as an AK-47-style rifle.
Agents also found a black bag in the tree line containing food, according to the complaint.
Trump was not harmed in the incident and was taken to a safe location by Secret Service agents.
It was unclear if the suspect fired a shot in the incident or was aiming his gun at Trump when he was spotted.
Following the first assassination attempt on Trump on July 13, the Secret Service conducted security assessments of Trump’s golf courses and implemented measures to bolster security, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. At the time, the Secret Service deemed the former president’s golf course in Jupiter, Florida, a residential course with houses around it, unsafe for him to play on.
The Secret Service deemed the Jupiter course much harder to manage from a security perspective than the Trump International course in West Palm Beach, the sources said.
As part of the assessment, the Secret Service implemented other security measures, including the use of bulletproof glass surrounding Trump at outdoor rallies, which ABC was the first to report on.
Suspect appears in court
The latest details of the incident emerged as Routh appeared in West Palm Beach federal court on Monday morning. Prosecutors said he is charged with possession of a firearm as a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Routh did not enter a plea to the charges, and was ordered to return to court on Sept. 23 for a pre-detention hearing. His arraignment has been scheduled for Sept. 30. Routh entered the courtroom wearing a T-shirt. He was seen smiling and nodding as he spoke to federal public defender Kristy R. Militello, who has been assigned to represent him.
When a judge asked Routh a series of questions to determine if he qualified for a public defender, Roth said he earns a monthly income of around $3,000, owns two trucks in Hawaii that are worth approximately $1,000 each, owns no real estate and has “zero” savings. He also informed the court that he has a 25-year-old son.
“The FBI is continuing to investigate what appears to be an assassination attempt of former President Trump that occurred yesterday in Florida. We are grateful that the former President is safe,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement Monday. “The entire Justice Department — including the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and the National Security Division — is coordinating closely with our law enforcement partners on the ground. We will work tirelessly to ensure accountability, and we will bring every available resource to bear in this investigation.”
Trump thanks Secret Service
“I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes – It was certainly an interesting day!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“Most importantly, I want to thank the U.S. Secret Service, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and his Office of brave and dedicated Patriots, and, all of Law Enforcement, for the incredible job done today at Trump International in keeping me, as the 45th President of the United States, and the Republican Nominee in the upcoming Presidential Election, SAFE.”
“THE JOB DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!” he wrote.
In a statement to ABC News early Monday night, Trump said he had a “very nice” conversation about Secret Service protection with President Biden over the phone.
White House senior deputy press secretary Emilie Simons wrote on X that Biden “conveyed his relief” that Trump is safe.
Trump is expected to meet Monday with the acting director of the Secret Service, Ronald Rowe Jr., sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Following the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump, who was shot in the ear, also met with the former director, Kimberly Cheatle, at the time for a briefing.
Trump playing golf when gunman spotted
On Sunday afternoon, Secret Service agents accompanying Trump fired at a man armed with a rifle on or near the Trump International golf course on Sunday.
MORE: Trump safe after apparent ‘attempted assassination’; Sources identify detained man
The FBI is investigating Sunday’s incident as an “attempted assassination.” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference Sunday afternoon that the gunman was within 300 to 500 yards of Trump when he was spotted.
Secret Service agents fired four to six rounds at him before he dropped his weapon and fled the scene in a vehicle. Witnesses reported the license plate number to authorities, and the suspect was stopped and detained.
MORE: Biden says Secret Service ‘needs more help’ after apparent Trump assassination attempt
It was not clear if the suspect was aiming his gun at the former president. Agents fired at the suspect after spotting his rifle through the fence line, multiple sources told ABC News.
Sources said three shell casings believed to be associated with the suspect’s AK-47 were found on the scene, though investigators are still evaluating whether the suspect fired his weapon. The rifle and two backpacks containing a GoPro camera and ceramic tiles were recovered from the scene, Bradshaw said.
Authorities are now probing Routh’s background. The detainee is believed to have ties to North Carolina and Hawaii, sources said. Sources told ABC News that the FBI is conducting an extensive investigation into Routh’s social media activity, travel and any criminal record. Friends, family and associates are also being sought for interviews.
Suspect’s family grilled
The suspect’s family is telling investigators that while Routh had no diagnosed mental illness, he “fixated” on things, multiple sources briefed on the investigation told ABC News.
MORE: Trump safe after apparent ‘attempted assassination’; Sources identify detained man
An avenue of investigation is whether Routh became fixated on Trump over the former president’s stance on Ukraine. Routh appears to have made recent social media posts critical of Trump and used social media to document his travel to Ukraine.
According to the sources, Trump was getting ready to putt on the fifth hole when a Secret Service agent called out “gun!” Agents immediately surrounded Trump and took him to a predetermined secure location at the property. USSS often has these safe areas designated in advance.
Sources familiar with the investigation said authorities are looking into whether Routh had grievances related to Trump’s position on Ukraine.
MORE: Ryan Wesley Routh: What we know about suspect in Trump ‘attempted assassination’
Authorities are expected to file more charges relating to the incident in the coming days, sources told ABC News.
Suspect’s criminal history
Routh has an extensive rap sheet in North Carolina dating back to 1997, including an incident from 2002 during which he reportedly barricaded himself inside a business while armed with an assault weapon, according to police and court records.
According to the Greensboro News & Record, in December 2002, Routh fled a traffic stop and barricaded himself inside a local roofing business for three hours until police arrested him.
Routh pleaded guilty to a felony count of possessing a weapon of mass destruction and a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed weapon, court records show. State incarceration records show he was sentenced to probation for this incident. Court records also indicate he still owes a $225 assessment related to the felony charge of possession of a weapon of mass destruction.
He also pleaded guilty in 2003 to stealing a state-issued identification card and, in 2010, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge. Routh was also repeatedly sued by construction contractors for attempting to write checks with insufficient funds.
Routh has several traffic citations, including speeding, running red lights, failing to wear a seat belt, driving while his license was revoked and driving with a broken windshield, among others.
Biden and Harris condemn apparent assassination
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both condemned the apparent assassination effort.
While speaking at National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference in Philadelphia, Biden addressed the apparent assassination attempt on Trump.
“Let me just say, there is no — and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, those of you how know me and many of you do – no place for political violence in America. Zero. Never,” Biden said. “I’ve always condemned political violence and I always. In America, we resolve our differences peacefully at the ballot box not at the end of a gun.”
Biden added, “America has suffered too many times the tragedy of an assassin’s bullet. It solves nothing. It just tears apart. We must do everything we can to prevent it and never give it any oxygen.”
Harris said in a statement that she was “thankful” that Trump was safe and “deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt.”
“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,” Harris said.
On Monday morning, Biden said he believes the Secret Service needs more help and called on Congress to act following the second apparent attempted assassination attempt on Donald Trump in nine weeks.
“Thank God the president is OK,” Biden said before boarding Marine One to depart the White House. “One thing I want to make clear: The service needs more help. And I think the Congress should respond to their needs if they, in fact, need more servicemen, and so that’s what we’re going to be talking about.”
Asked what kind of help he thought the Secret Service needs, Biden said, “They’re deciding whether they need more personnel or not.”
ABC News’ Lalee Ibassa, Katherine Faulders, Aaron Katersky, Soo Rin Kim, Michelle Stoddart, Pierre Thomas, Rachel Scott, Jack Date, Leah Sarnoff, Kelsey Walsh and Luke Barr contributed to this report.
Assassination attempt suspect Ryan Wesley Routh didn’t have a line of sight on Trump or take a shot: Officials originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
