A suspected assassin of Donald Trump was hiding in bushes near a golf course in the Palm Beach area next to his home Mar-a-Lago in Florida, United States, for nearly 12 hours. Locals are surprised by the authorities’ statement about this second assassination attempt on the former president within a few months.
Trump went to the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach with his close friend and real estate businessman Steve Witkoff on Sunday afternoon. The weather was hot and the sky was cloudy at that time.
Trump, the Republican candidate for the November presidential election in the United States, was at Fifth Fairway (a part of the golf course) near a busy road adjacent to Palm Beach International Airport at 1:31 PM that day. At that moment, one of the Secret Service members responsible for Trump’s security spotted a gun barrel inside the bushes near the field.
Secret Service members immediately moved Trump to safety. Recalling this assassination attempt, Trump said on Monday night that he heard “probably four or five” gunshots at close range while playing golf.
The suspect had two digital cameras, a black plastic food bag, and a semi-automatic gun. The gun could fire shots from about 440 yards away.
Federal investigators say that a skilled Secret Service member fired at the suspected gunman who was 300 to 500 yards away. The suspected gunman did not have a clear view of Trump from where he was hiding.
In a live broadcast on X (formerly Twitter) from the Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump said,
“The Secret Service members immediately sensed the possibility of gunfire and they grabbed me.”
Trump further said,
“We got into the car and left quite well. I was with the security officer, and he did a fantastic job.”
Investigators are saying that the gunman did not fire any shots. He was hiding behind meticulously arranged bushes and tall palm trees surrounding the golf course.
Federal officials say that according to mobile phone records, the gunman had been lying in wait near a fence of the golf course from 1:59 AM on Sunday. A Secret Service member detected his presence at 1:31 PM.
The Secret Service members immediately sensed the possibility of gunfire and they grabbed me.
—Donald Trump, Republican Presidential Candidate
The suspect had two digital cameras, a black plastic food bag, and a semi-automatic gun. The gun could fire shots from about 440 yards away.
Republican candidate Donald Trump’s most recent campaign event was on Saturday morning in Utah, the day before the assassination attempt.
Florida residents say that when not busy with election campaigns, Trump spends most of his Sundays at the West Palm Beach golf club.
However, Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said yesterday that the former president was not scheduled to go to the golf course last Sunday. Therefore, they had to create a last-minute security plan for Trump.
Meanwhile, even though Trump wasn’t scheduled to play golf in Palm Beach on Sunday, many questions have arisen in people’s minds about how the gunman knew the former president was coming there that day, or if his (the gunman’s) assumption coincidentally matched Trump’s arrival. Questions have also been raised about how the suspect managed to hide in the bushes with a gun for such a long time.
Notably, Secret Service members fired at least four shots after spotting the gun barrel in the bushes. The individual then dropped the gun and fled by car.
U.S. officials further report that an eyewitness took pictures of the gunman’s car and license plate. The car information was later sent to various agencies in Florida. Based on that information, the car was stopped in the neighboring Martin area. The suspect, Ryan Wesley Ruth (58), was arrested.
Yesterday, Ryan Ruth was presented in a crowded Palm Beach court. He spoke with his lawyer in court. He was also seen smiling at times. Initially, two charges were brought against him. More charges may be added later.
According to The New York Times, the accused Ruth’s home is in North Carolina. He was once a construction worker. He has no experience working in the military. However, he had tried multiple times to participate in armed conflicts. Particularly after Russia began its military operation in Ukraine in 2022, he showed interest in going to Ukraine to participate in this war.
In a post on X, Wesley Ruth had also expressed his desire to participate in the Ukraine war and sacrifice his life if necessary. In the post, he wrote,
‘I want to go to Ukraine and volunteer to fight in the war. I will give my life if necessary.’
In an interview with The New York Times last year, Wesley Ruth said he had gone to Ukraine to participate in the war. However, he was discouraged from participating in the war due to his age.
AP reports that Ruth was seen at a protest in Kyiv’s Independence Square in April 2022. They have video footage of that incident.
Wesley Ruth had been involved in criminal incidents before as well. In 2022, he was arrested with an automatic weapon at his home in North Carolina.
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