Following the 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh’s arrest in connection with gunfire heard close to the former president’s golf course, Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Florida, the president expressed his relief that Mr. Trump was “unharmed.”
According to Palm Beach State’s attorney Dave Aronberg, news, a Secret Service agent saw a rifle barrel come out of a perimeter fence encircling the course and realized the gunman was “lying in wait” for Mr. Trump rather than firing any bullets.
Later on, items found concealed in the undergrowth included a GoPro camera, two backpacks, and an assault rifle similar to an AK-47 with a scope.
Mr. Biden “commends” the efforts of the Secret Service but added that he has “directed [his] team to continue to ensure that the service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former president’s continued safety” in a statement following the incident.
It follows criticism throughout the service over how the gunman was able to approach Mr. Trump to within 500 yards. This is the second apparent attempt on Mr. Trump’s life in nine weeks, following the Republican nominee’s injury during an attempted assassination at a rally in July.
