'Gunman' Ryan Wesley Routh arrested after new bid to kill Donald Trump sees ex-President rushed to safety on golf course after secret service fire at assassin hiding in bush: Pro-Ukraine suspect's chilling reaction to cops is revealed

• Secret Service agents noticed a would-be shooter hiding on Trump's course
• They opened fire and the suspect fled the scene but was later arrested 

Donald Trump narrowly escaped a second assassination attempt in as many months yesterday when Secret Service agents opened fire on a would-be shooter hiding in the bushes as the former president played golf in Florida.

Agents descended on a man who was spotted pointing a rifle through a fence lining Trump's private golf club in West Palm Beach a few hundred yards away from the president. 

The suspect, named as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, fled the scene when agents opened fire on his position, abandoning his rifle and other items, but was later arrested. 

The FBI described it as an apparent attempted assassination on the GOP nominee.

It comes just weeks after Trump was grazed in the ear by a bullet when a gunman was able to gain access to an unsecured roof at his Pennsylvania rally in July, unleashing a hail of bullets that left one supporter dead and two others badly injured.

Trump himself took to social media shortly after the golf course was secured to praise the Secret Service and authorities for their 'incredible job'. 

'I would like to thank everyone for your concern and well wishes - It was certainly an interesting day! 

'Most importantly, I want to thank the US Secret Service, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and his Office of brave and dedicated Patriots, and, all of Law Enforcement, for the incredible job done today at Trump International in keeping me, as the 45th President of the United States, and the Republican Nominee in the upcoming Presidential Election, SAFE. 

'THE JOB DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!' he concluded. 

The West Palm Beach Police Department was notified of shots fired by the Secret Service around 1:30pm local time yesterday after an agent spotted the shooter in the bushes at Trump International Golf Club in Mar-a-Lago, West Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said. 

Alleged gunman Routh was hiding about 300-500 yards from the 45th president who was playing golf between holes five and six when a Secret Service noticed something out of the ordinary sticking out of the chain-link fence surrounding the golf course.

The agent, who was part of a team that stays a hole or two ahead of Trump on the course to ward off potential threats, realised it was a rifle barrel and 'immediately engaged', firing a volley of shots at Routh.

The would-be assassin immediately fled the scene in a car but later pulled over and surrendered to law enforcement. 

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Shocking pictures broadcast yesterday showed the tall, slim man standing beside a car holding his hands above his head and raising his t-shirt to show officers he was no longer armed.

CNN and CBS reported Routh was a self-employed affordable housing builder in Hawaii who had a lengthy rap sheet and regularly posted on politics and current events.

He was found to be highly critical of Trump, and a staunch supporter of Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion.

'I AM WILLING TO FLY TO KRAKOW AND GO TO THE BORDER OF UKRAINE TO VOLUNTEER AND FIGHT AND DIE... Can I be the example We must win,' Routh said in an X post in March 2022.

Routh was interviewed in April 2022 in Kyiv, where he was taking part in a demonstration in support of Ukrainians trapped in the port city of Mariupol.

'Putin is a terrorist, and he needs to be ended, so we need everybody from around the world to stop what they are doing and come here now,' he told AFP at the time.

His attempted attack on the former President is sure to raise new questions about the level of protection Trump is given just weeks away from November's presidential elections. 

While the Secret Service has grappled with how to keep Trump safe as he campaigns across the country, holding rallies that often draw thousands, less attention has focused on his protection when he is off the trail, often at his own clubs and properties.

The former president had just returned to Florida from a West Coast swing that included stops in Las Vegas and Utah, and had announced on social media that he would be delivering remarks Monday from Mar-a-Lago about cryptocurrency as he launches a new crypto platform. 

Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach, about a 10-minute drive from his Mar-a-Lago residence, is one of three golf clubs the former president owns in Florida, boasting 27 holes of championship golf as well as event spaces. 

While Trump was president, news photographers were often able to capture images of him on the greens by finding gaps in the shrubbery, but Sunday's round of golf was not part of any public schedule. 

It was not clear how the suspect knew Trump was playing golf at the time, or what his motive was. 

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw noted at a briefing that because Trump is no longer in office, security protocols around the course had loosened.

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'He's not the sitting president. If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded. But because he's not, his security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible,' he told reporters.

Unlike many former presidents and VIPs who live in heavily secured private communities, Trump's club is open to dues-paying members who mingle with the former president at meals and can invite their own guests to the property.

Trump often holds court on the club's patio, playing DJ with his iPad. 

While president, he once plotted a response to a North Korean missile launch from the candlelit terrace, the meeting captured and posted on social media by a club member.

Law enforcement officials praised the work of the agents assigned to protect Trump.

One agent, tasked with jumping one hole ahead of the former president to scope out potential threats, managed to spot the gunman's rifle barrel sticking out of the fence that surrounds the golf club and 'immediately engaged that individual', Bradshaw said.

In an email to campaign staff Sunday night, senior campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles credited the Secret Service for saving Trump, who has praised the agents in his own protective detail for their bravery as they rushed on stage to protect him in Butler, Pennsylvania.

'President Trump and everyone accompanying him are safe thanks to the great work of the United States Secret Service,' they wrote.

Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a social media post that the agency is working closely with the FBI, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement to investigate what happened.

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Trump will be briefed in person Monday by acting Secret Service director Ronald Rowe about the investigation, according to a person familiar with the plan who was not authorised to speak publicly.

Meanwhile, the so-called assassination attempt sparked immediate finger-pointing and calls for answers on Capitol Hill.

New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the House Republican Conference chair and a close ally of the former president, said she was grateful Trump was safe. 

'However, we must ask ourselves how an assassin was allowed to get this close to President Trump again?' she asked in a statement.

The leaders of the bipartisan task force that has been investigating the security failures in Pennsylvania said they were monitoring the situation and had requested a briefing from the Secret Service.

'We are thankful that the former President was not harmed, but remain deeply concerned about political violence and condemn it in all of its forms,' said Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., in a joint statement.

Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, one of Trump's rivals in the GOP primary, said his state will conduct its own investigation.

'The people deserve the truth about the would-be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the former president and current GOP nominee,' he wrote in a social media post.

Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna echoed that message. 'Two assassination attempts in 60 days on a former President & the Republican nominee is unacceptable,' he wrote. 

'The Secret Service must come to Congress tomorrow, tell us what resources are needed to expand the protective perimeter, & lets allocate it in a bipartisan vote the same day.'

President Joe Biden said in a statement that he was 'relieved' that Trump was unharmed and said 'there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country.' 

He said he had directed his staff 'to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President's continued safety.'