US Secret Service: Trump Assassination Suspect Failed to Fire a Shot

Photo: Ronald Rowe/Chandan Khanna /AFP

The suspect arrested in the investigation into the assassination attempt on Donald Trump “did not fire a single shot,” Ronald Rowe, acting director of the United States Secret Service, which protects senior US politicians, said on Monday.

“We have no information at this time that he acted with the help of anyone,”— Jeffrey Veltri, the FBI spokesman leading the investigation, said at a news conference Monday afternoon at the West Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in Florida, Agence France-Presse reported.

After being spotted by a Secret Service agent who saw the gunman and opened fire, “the suspect, without a clear line of sight to the former president, fled. He did not fire,” Rowe said.

“The suspect did not even have time to fire a shot, and we apprehended him and charged him,” Sheriff Rick Bradshaw added.

Ryan Wesley Routh spent nearly 12 hours near Donald Trump's golf course before he was spotted by Secret Service agents, according to his phone's location data.

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Trump's visit to the golf course, Routh said, was not on his public schedule, and it's unclear whether the suspect knew Trump would be there.

According to court records, the suspect fled in a sport utility vehicle. Officers found a loaded assault rifle with a scope, a digital camera, and a plastic bag of food near where he was located.

Rout was arrested about 40 minutes later while driving north on Interstate 95. When asked if he knew why he was pulled over, Rout “answered yes.” His license plate was stolen.

Wesley Rout, 58, appeared before a judge on Monday. In 2022, Agence France-Presse interviewed him in Kyiv, where he had come to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia. He was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon due to his criminal record and possession of a weapon with an removed serial number.

In addition to these charges, which carry maximum sentences of 15 and five years in prison, respectively, he is likely to face other charges. His next detention hearing is scheduled for September 23, with a formal arraignment scheduled for a week later.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga