Suspect in custody following second apparent assassination attempt on Trump
Former United States President Donald Trump says he is “safe and well” after what authorities said appeared to be a second assassination attempt on the Republican candidate.
The FBI said it is investigating “what appears to be an attempted assassination” of Trump on Sunday after the Secret Service said it opened fire on a gunman at the former president’s golf resort in Florida.
“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.”
Ukraine supporter
US media named the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, quoting law enforcement officials.
According to CNN and CBS, Routh was a self-employed affordable housing builder in Hawaii, who regularly posted on politics and current events, including sometimes criticising Trump.
Public access to the suspect’s Facebook and X profiles was removed hours after the shooting, but he was reportedly active in calling for support for Ukraine in its efforts to defend against Russia’s invasion.
Earlier this year, the suspect had tagged US President Joe Biden on X, according to the Reuters news agency.
“@POTUS Your campaign should be called something like KADAF. Keep America democratic and free. Trumps should be MASA … make Americans slaves again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose,” he posted.
Routh is reported to have travelled to Ukraine in 2022 to volunteer to fight. However, he was rejected due to his age and having no military experience.
His stance has sparked reactions from Moscow and Kyiv.
The Kremlin sought to weaponise the situation by appearing to suggest that US backing for Ukraine was to blame for inspiring the suspect. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Routh’s Ukrainian links showed that “playing with fire” had consequences.
Moscow is following the situation, he added, but reiterated that Russia is not interfering in the US presidential election.
In Kyiv, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “It’s good that the suspect in the assassination attempt was apprehended quickly. This is our principle: the rule of law is paramount and political violence has no place anywhere in the world.”
‘Relieved’
The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, had been briefed and would be kept updated on the investigation.
The White House added that Biden and Harris were “relieved” to know Trump is safe.
“Violence has no place in America,” Harris said in a post on X.
Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, expressed relief that Trump had not been hurt.
“I’m glad [former] President Trump is safe,” Vance said on X.
“I spoke to him before the news was public and he was, amazingly, in good spirits. Still much we don’t know, but I’ll be hugging my kids extra tight tonight and saying a prayer of gratitude.”
