The task force on the attempted assassination of Donald Trump said Sunday it is monitoring what authorities confirm was a second assassination attempt on the Republican presidential candidate and have requested a briefing with the U.S. Secret Service.
Chairman Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Jason Crow, D-Colo., released a joint statement Sunday following a shooting the FBI is investigating.
“The Task Force is monitoring this attempted assassination of former President Trump in West Palm Beach this afternoon,” the joint statement said. “We have requested a briefing with the U.S. Secret Service about what happened and how security responded.
We are thankful that the former President was not harmed, but remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in all of its forms. The Task Force will share updates as we learn more.”
The suspect who pointed an AK-47 rifle at former President Trump on a golf course Sunday afternoon was at least 300 yards away, authorities said.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the gunman had an AK-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks hanging on a fence and a GoPro camera. Ceramic tile was also found in the backpack.
According to Fox News, the suspect, later identified as Ryan Routh, was hiding in a shrubbery about 300 to 500 yards away, while the former president played golf on a nearby hole. That was approximately a quarter of a mile from Trump.
A Secret Service agent walking on the golf course a hole ahead of where Trump was playing spotted the rifle sticking out of the fence and immediately opened fire, Bradshaw said.
That’s more than twice the distance of Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old gunman who attempted to assassinate Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13 before he was killed by the Secret Service.
