Former US President Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt at his Trump International Golf Club in Florida on Sunday (September 15), sparking attention. Court documents revealed that the shooter may have been lurking in the nearby area for nearly 12 hours in advance.
On Monday, more details about the suspect Ryan Wesley Routh were exposed.
According to the charges filed on Monday, Routh’s cellphone location data indicated that he might have spent nearly 12 hours in the vicinity of the location where he was discovered on Sunday.
A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent stated in an affidavit submitted to the court that preliminary investigations showed that the data obtained from T-Mobile indicated Routh was active in the area near the location where law enforcement agents first spotted him from around 1:59 am to 1:31 pm local time on Sunday.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw revealed that a Secret Service agent had noticed a rifle barrel with a scope protruding from the golf club fence at the time, and immediately took action by shooting at the gunman. The gunman then fled the scene in a car, which was intercepted by the authorities, leading to his arrest.
Trump was playing golf at the golf club when the incident occurred.
The court documents also detailed Routh’s past criminal activities, including being convicted of a felony in North Carolina. Federal law prohibits felons from possessing firearms. The documents indicated that Routh was intercepted by law enforcement officers 45 minutes after fleeing the golf course. When asked by the officers why he was being stopped, Routh provided an affirmative response.
Following the incident, a rifle with a scope, a backpack containing ceramic plates, and a Go-Pro camera left behind by Routh were found on the golf club fence.
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told CNN, “The entire setup demonstrates a very high level of premeditation.”
Local State Prosecutor David Aronberg informed CNN that Routh remained silent during detention. Trump’s golfing activity was not on the former president’s public schedule, and it remains unclear how Routh knew Trump would be playing golf there.