Mahiyar Rohinton Patel, Pune
Around 15 minutes from Mar-a-Lago; the residence of the former President of the United States; Donald Trump, where he played a round of golf. As he kept on with his game Secret Service agents mandated with the protection of all former presidents and their families forged ahead of the President and his golfing party scooping out and clearing the path ahead that is when they came upon an AK-47 sticking out of the bush. The secret service agents engaged the rifleman firing 4 to 5 rounds at the gunman and in the midst of the chaos that followed he fled the scene, driving away in a vehicle parked nearby.
The suspected assassin was apprehended by local police on an interstate highway around 60km from the golf course. Preliminary information at the moment says that the shooter’s name is Ryan Wesley Routh. When CBS News reached out to the family of the shooter his son ‘Oran’ said that from whatever he’s heard it doesn’t sound like the man he knows. Oran would go on to describe him as a loving and caring father.
According to the security protocols of the service, the agents are supposed to be one hole ahead of the president vetting the path ahead. On a golf course, there are 18 holes of various sizes. In this case, the Secret Service came upon the shooter when he was only about 300 meters away from the President.
In social media profiles verified by the BBC, there are many anti-Israel, pro-Taiwan, and anti-China posts on his feed and timeline. There are also several social media posts encouraging people and foreign fighters to take up arms on behalf of Ukraine against Russia.
Though Mr. Routh had no military experience of any kind he is known to have traveled to Ukraine during the initial breakout of the Russian-Ukraine war to compel Afghan soldiers who had fled during the Taliban takeover of the country, to fight for Ukraine, according to the New York Times.
Certain early reports accessed by CBS News have shown that Mr. Routh has a criminal record. He has been charged and convicted of various crimes between 2002 and 2010. The offenses include carrying a concealed weapon, resisting arrest, hit and run, and possession of stolen property. Mr. Routh is going to make an appearance at the Palm Beach County Courthouse on Monday to face a judge for his crimes.
Donald Trump was immediately evacuated from the golf course which he incidentally owns. His campaign office released a statement from him saying he is unhurt and well. It is unclear what will happen next and what will be the political consequences of this event as Donald Trump’s rating took a severe beating after the disastrous debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.