5 facts about potential assassination attempt on Trump at golf course

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Former President Donald Trump is safe following what the FBI says “appears to be an attempted assassination” while playing golf two months after another attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania.

Local authorities said the U.S. Secret Service agents protecting Trump fired at a man pointing an AK-style rifle with a scope as Trump was playing on one of his Florida golf courses in West Palm Beach.

Here are five things to know about what happened Sunday to the Republican presidential nominee.

Who is the suspect?

Law enforcement officials said the man who pointed the rifle and was arrested is Ryan Wesley Routh. The officials identified the suspect to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

The suspect dropped the weapon and fled in an SUV and was later taken into custody in a neighboring county, authorities said. A motive is unclear. Local authorities said the gunman had two backpacks hanging on a fence and a GoPro camera.

Routh was convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction, according to North Carolina Department of Adult Correction online records.

The records do not provide details about the case. But a News & Record story from 2002 says a man with the same name was arrested after a three-hour standoff with police. The story says he was pulled over during a traffic stop, put his hand on a gun and barricaded himself inside a roofing business.
Routh was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possessing a weapon of mass destruction, “referring to a fully automatic machine gun,” according to the News & Record.

How did this happen?

Local authorities said the gunman was about 400 yards to 500 yards away from Trump and hiding in shrubbery while the former president was playing a round of golf at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach.