For the second time Within two months, Donald Trump was the target of an “assassination attempt that appeared to be an assassination attempt” on Sunday, according to the FBI.
In July, a would-be assassin shot Trump with an AR-15 rifle during a campaign rally in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, apparently wounding him in the ear, before the Secret Service was able to kill him.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw said at a news conference that on Sunday afternoon, while Trump was playing golf at his golf club in West Palm Beach, a Secret Service agent spotted an AK-47 protruding through the fence, between 300 and 500 yards from the former president.
The Secret Service agent shot the man, who fled in a car — leaving behind a gun, binoculars, backpacks containing ceramic tiles and a GoPro camera, according to the city police.
Police have arrested a suspect — identified by multiple media outlets as Ryan Wesley Roth, 58, of Hawaii.
According to CNN, Roth had been arrested eight times in the past, mostly for minor offenses. He worked as a construction worker in North Carolina. The New York Times The newspaper reported that it interviewed Roth last year, and he said he volunteered to recruit soldiers to fight in Ukraine after the Russian invasion. He told the newspaper: “I am just an American citizen helping.”
The suspect was arrested in neighboring Martin County shortly after law enforcement officials issued an urgent alert that included detailed information about the vehicle, its license plate number and a description of the passenger.
The FBI is still working to determine the motive behind what it describes as an apparent assassination attempt.
Having been here so long, the Trump campaign wasted little time in seeking to raise money from the failed attack.
“I heard shots fired in my neighborhood, but before the rumors start getting out of hand, I wanted you to hear this first: I am safe and healthy!” Trump wrote in an email to his supporters that included a link to the fundraiser.
The Trump campaign sent a separate text message to supporters: “From Trump: I am safe and well! No one was hurt. Thank God.”
“I am grateful for your support,” his campaign added, along with a link to his campaign website.
In another text message Sunday evening, the campaign wrote: “From Trump: My resolve is made stronger after another attempt on my life! Thank you for your support. Unity. Peace. MAGA!”
The message included a special fundraising page set up to raise money for the apparent assassination attempt. The site lists the donations received, and a message noting that while Trump is fine, “there are people in this world who will do whatever it takes to stop us.”
