Second Would-Be Trump Assassin Has Been Identified

The suspect in the second attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh.

Routh, described as a white male in his mid-60s, was spotted near Trump’s West Palm Beach, Fla., golf course carrying a rifle. 

According to law enforcement, Routh allegedly pointed the rifle through the fence at Trump’s golf course while the former president was playing a round, triggering Secret Service agents to open fire.  After fleeing the scene, Routh was apprehended by Martin County Sheriff’s Deputies on I-95. Reports indicate that he was unarmed at the time of his arrest and remained calm throughout.

Related: New Details on Latest Assassination Attempt on Donald Trump

"The Secret Service agent that was on the course did a fantastic job," Sheriff Rich Bradshaw of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said at a press conference. "What they do is they have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time to where the president was at, and he was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engage that individual, at which time the individual took off.”

According to Sean Hannity, who spoke with Trump earlier in the afternoon after the incident, "Within seconds, the Secret Service pounced on the president, covered him. You had snipers with tripods. They knew the direction... where the shots had been fired, and they had eyes on the location where the shots had been fired."

The Secret Service alerted local authorities after hearing gunfire. "We were notified of that, and we had units here that immediately sealed off the area," explained  Bradshaw. A witness reported spotting Routh running out of the bushes before jumping into a black Nissan and managed to snap a photo of the vehicle and its license plate.

Using license plate readers, law enforcement tracked the suspect's vehicle to I-95, where Martin County Sheriff's deputies apprehended him. A subsequent search of the scene uncovered an AK-47-style rifle equipped with a scope, two backpacks, and a GoPro camera.

Recommended: LIVE UPDATES: Trump Survives 2nd Assassination Attempt — This Time at His Golf Course

Despite the swift response by the Secret Service and local law enforcement, the failure to properly secure the area around President Trump will no doubt come under more scrutiny.

At a Heritage Foundation forum last month, Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) questioned former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino about the agency's current state under Director Rowe. Bongino responded bluntly, stating that the situation had actually worsened.

“And sadly, I'm glad this is all being recorded because when something else happens, and I hope it doesn't, I pray to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, that I'm wrong. That you play this and go, ‘Look, that guy was crazy.’ You think this is the last incident. You're out of your mind. We have seen these incidents over and over.”

Bongino also criticized former Director Kim Cheatle for resigning rather than being fired and mocked Rowe for focusing on trivial issues like the color of agents' ties, which he claimed was a concern due to its perceived political implications.

This story is developing...