Four things to know about apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump is safe following what the FBI says appears to be an attempted assassinationrdquo while playing golf two months after another attempt on his life at a rally in PennsylvaniaLocal authorities said the US Secret Service agents protecting Trump fired at a man pointing an AKstyle rifle with a scope as Trump was playing on one of his Florida golf courses in West Palm BeachHere are four things to know about what happened Sunday to the Republican presidential nominee Donald TrumpDonald Trump assassination bid Who is the suspectLaw enforcement officials said the man who pointed the rifle and was arrested was 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 investigationRecords show Routh 58 lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving in 2018 to Kaaawa Hawaii where he and his son operated a company building sheds according to an archived version of the webpage for the businessRouth frequently posted about the war in Ukraine on social media and had a website where he sought to raise money and recruit volunteers to go to Kyiv to join the fight against the Russian invasion In June 2020 he made a post on X directed at thenPresident Trump to say he would win reelection if he issued an executive order for the Justice Department to prosecute police misconduct That year he also posted in support of the Democratic presidential campaign of thenUS Rep Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii who has since left the party and endorsed TrumpHowever in recent years his posts suggest he soured on Trump and he expressed support for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala HarrisIn July following the assassination attempt on Trump in Pennsylvania Routh urged Biden and Harris to visit those wounded in the shooting at the hospital and to attend the funeral of a former fire chief killed at the rallyVoter records show he registered as an unaffiliated voter in North Carolina in 2012 most recently voting in person during the states Democratic Party primary in March 2024 Federal campaign finance records show Routh made 19 small political donations totalling 140 since 2019 using his Hawaii address to ActBlue a political action committee that supports Democratic candidatesRecords show that while living in Greensboro North Carolina Routh had multiple runins with law enforcement He was convicted in 2002 of possessing a weapon of mass destruction according to online North Carolina Department of Adult Correction recordsThe records do not provide details about the case But a News amp Record story from 2002 says a man with the same name was arrested after a threehour 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 He owned the roofing company according to state incorporation filingsDonald Trump assassination bid How did this happenLocal 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 BeachRic Bradshaw sheriff of Palm Beach County said that when people get into the shrubbery around the course ldquotheyre pretty much out of sightrdquo Bradshaw said the entire golf course would have been lined with law enforcement if Trump were the sitting president but because hes not ldquosecurity is limited to the areas the Secret Service deems possiblerdquo Trumps protective detail has been higher than some of his peers because of his high visibility and his campaign to seek the White House again His security was bolstered days before the July assassination attempt in Pennsylvania because of a threat on Trumps life from Iran US officials saidDonald Trump assassination bid What has Trump said since the attemptIn an email to supporters Trump said ldquoThere were gunshots in my vicinity but before rumors start spiraling out of control I wanted you to hear this first I AM SAFE AND WELLrdquo His running mate JD Vance and US Sen Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said they spoke with Trump after the incident and both said he was in ldquogood spiritsrdquo Trump also checked in with several Fox News hostsFox News host Sean Hannity a close friend of the former presidents said on air that he spoke with Trump and his golf partner Steve Witkoff afterward They told Hannity they had been on the fifth hole when they heard a ldquopop pop pop poprdquo Within seconds he said Witkoff recounted Secret Service agents ldquopounced onrdquo Trump and ldquocovered himrdquo to protect himMoments later Witkoff said a ldquofast cartrdquo with steel reinforcement and other protection was able to whisk Trump awayHannity said Trumps reaction after this happened mdash and when it was clear that everyone including Witkoff was safe mdash was to quip that he was sad he hadnt been able to finish the hole since he ldquowas even and had a birdie puttrdquo What is Vice President Kamala Harris saying Harris Trumps Democratic opponent in the presidential election posted on X that she had been briefed on the reports of gunshots firedldquoI am glad he is safe Violence has no place in Americardquo The White House said President Joe Biden and Harris would be kept updated on the investigation The White House added it was ldquorelievedrdquo to know Trump is safeDonald Trump assassination bid Whats nextTrump has not announced any changes to his schedule and is set to speak live on X on Monday night from his MaraLago resort to launch his sons crypto platformMeanwhile the leaders of a congressional bipartisan task force investigating the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump said they have requested a briefing by the Secret ServiceldquoWe are thankful that the former President was not harmed but remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in all of its formsrdquo Rep Mike Kelly RPa and Rep Jason Crow DColo said in a statement They said the task force will share updatesUS Rep Jared Moskowitz a Florida Democrat who is part of the task force said he ldquowill seek answers about what happened today and thenrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever