a second assassination attempt?

I saw the news before going to bed last night: Trump was out golfing when shots were fired near where he was. At the time, the Secret Service fired back, failing to hit the supposed shooter, and it wasn't clear whether the guy was, in fact, shooting at Trump. 

Today, though, I see this:

Headline:

Trump: 2 — Deep State Assassins: 0 — Would-Be Assassin Identified as Ryan Wesley Routh

[tweet] Breaking: Multiple shots fired at Trump [International] Golf Club in West Palm Beach, where the former president was golfing today.

[ ... ]

“President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity. No further details at this time,” said Trump spokesman Steven Cheung.

Secret Service is reporting that the President is safe and they’re working with local police to investigate.

The Secret Service, in conjunction with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, is investigating a protective incident involving former President Donald Trump that occurred shortly before 2 p.m. The former president is safe. @pbso will have more details soon. 

Update: CNN is reporting it was an assassination attempt.

Update 2: All indications point to this being another assassination attempt. It’s still technically unconfirmed, but multiple outlets referring to multiple sources indicate a man with an AK-47 and a GoPro camera took shots at President Trump while he was on the 5th hole.

Update 3: A press conference by all law enforcement agencies involved was held. Here is the video of the 11-minute explainer: [video—see at link]

Update 4: According to Fox News, the would-be assassin has been identified:

The suspect in the second assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, law enforcement sources confirmed to Fox News.

Routh was allegedly armed with an assault rifle outside Trump International Golf Club while Trump was playing the fifth hole on Sunday afternoon.

He was able to push the muzzle of his gun through the chainlink fence outside the golf club, authorities said.

He was 300 to 500 yards away from Trump. Secret Service spotted Routh and opened fire.

Routh was able to get way, but was later stopped by authorities and arrested. He was found with two backpacks and a GoPro camera. The rifle was recovered from the bushes outside the golf course.

We're lucky these assassins are all bad shots. Someone needs to hire better shooters before Trump gets the idea of assembling his own team and taking down the Deep State elements who keep planning these attempts. If he's elected, he's going to have to burn everything down with fire and start all over. Is there any way to do that politely? No, so he'll be hounded by accusations of becoming a dictator: "See? See? We told you who he was!"

We'd better hope Routh survives long enough to be questioned. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he were suddenly to... disappear. And as some are wondering, why wasn't the Secret Service able to at least wound the guy? Lack of trying? Who are these people "protecting" Trump? He needs to pay for his own loyal and competent security detail.

UPDATE: Trump's schedule hadn't been posted. How did Routh know where to go?

UPDATE 2: The Epoch Times:

Trump Targeted in Apparent 2nd Assassination Attempt in Florida
The FBI is leading the investigation into the incident, while the gunman is in custody.

The FBI said on Sept. 15 that former President Donald Trump was targeted in a suspected second assassination attempt in as many months after his campaign confirmed that shots were reported near his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida., where the former president was golfing.

“The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,” the FBI told The Epoch Times in a statement.

A representative from the U.S. Secret Service separately told a news conference on Sept. 15 that a Secret Service agent opened fire on a suspected gunman “located near the property line,” adding it’s under investigation. The Palm Beach sheriff said that officials recovered an AK-47-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks that had “ceramic tile” inside, and a GoPro camera.

A Secret Service agent who was a few holes ahead of Trump on the golf course “was able to spot this rifle barrel” and “immediately [engaged] that individual, at which time the individual took off,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.

Photos shared by law enforcement on Sept. 15 showed what appeared to be two black bags hanging from a fence near the golf course. A firearm was seen between them and pointed through a gap in the fence, while the GoPro was hanging to the side. 

[ ... ] 

The Secret Service has been under fire since then for failing to prevent the 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, from opening fire from a rooftop about 400 feet away from the rally. 

Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that included a late Sept. 13 rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser. 

The Trump International Golf Club is about 4.5 miles from Mar-a-Lago, where the former president lives. 

Bradshaw told the news conference that the suspect was between 300 and 500 yards away from the former president when the Secret Service spotted him. “But with a rifle and a scope like that, that’s not a long distance,” he said. 

The suspect has “a GoPro on the fence there, where he was intent on filming what was going on,” Bradshaw said. The individual was near the fourth or fifth hole of the course, which was one or two holes ahead of where the former president was located, he said.

Yay. The FBI is investigating. You sure they're not the ones who tried to kill him via patsy/proxy? That was a theory with Crooks. Anybody ever seen 1984's "The Guardian"? 

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

UPDATE 3: Sky News: "Suspect ID'ed." Here.

UPDATE 4:

BREAKING — Erik Prince, founder of the private security firm Blackwater, calls on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to immediately assume control of the investigation into the second Trump assassination attempt.

He adds, “The Feds have dropped the ball thoroughly on Butler PA. Time… pic.twitter.com/whRNdu1frv

— Election Wizard (@ElectionWiz) September 15, 2024