Topline
The suspected gunman in the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump did not fire his gun or have the former president in his line of sight, federal officials said Monday in an update of the ongoing investigation.
Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office, Acting Director Ron Rowe of … [+]
Key Facts
Ronald L. Rowe Jr., the acting director of the Secret Service, said in a press conference the suspected gunman, who was identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, did not fire his gun before he left the scene.
Rowe also said Routh—who Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said was between 300 and 500 yards from the president—“did not have a line of sight to” Trump.
Jeffrey Veltri, special agent in charge of the FBI Miami Field Office, said the attempted assassination was “extremely serious” and the FBI is interviewing witnesses and family members, friends and former colleagues of Routh to gain more information.
Veltri added the FBI is working to get warrants to access “a video recording device, subject’s cellular devices, a vehicle and other electronic devices located at previously known addresses.”
The FBI said Monday agents are still investigating whether he had help, CNN reported, though Veltri said they “do not have information that he’s been acting with anyone else at present.”
Trump now “has the highest levels of protection” the Secret Service can provide, officials said.
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Key Background
Trump’s campaign announced Sunday afternoon he was safe after shots were fired in his vicinity at the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach. Officials later said a Secret Service agent spotted a gun poking out of a fence at the golf club on a hole ahead of Trump and fired at the gunman, who was hiding in the shrubbery. The man then fled, though a witness saw him get into a vehicle and told police, who were able to detain him about 45 minutes later on a freeway heading north. The suspect left his gun with a scope, two backpacks, and a GoPro camera, at the scene.
Tangent
President Joe Biden spoke to Trump on Monday just before 6 p.m. EDT, according to White House spokesperson Emilie Simons. Simons said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the pair had “a cordial conversation” in which Biden expressed relief Trump was safe and Trump “expressed his thanks for the call.”
Surprising Fact
Officials said Monday Routh was the subject of a previously closed tip to the FBI in 2019 alleging he illegally had a firearm as a felon. The Associated Press reported the person who tipped the FBI could not verify the information, which was passed to local law enforcement in Hawaii.
