An undated selfie shows Ryan W. Routh, a suspect identified by news organisations, as the FBI investigates what they said was an apparent assassination attempt in Florida on Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump,
| Photo Credit: via Reuters

A gunman attempted to assassinate former U.S. president Donald Trump on Sunday (September 15, 2024) at Mr. Trump’s golf course in Palm Beach, Florida, authorities said. Several news organisations identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, citing unidentified law enforcement officials. The FBI declined to comment.

Here is what we know so far about the suspected gunman:

Gun barrel in bushes

The Secret Service said its agents were accompanying Mr. Trump on the golf course, when one who was securing holes ahead of the Republican presidential candidate spotted a gun barrel in some bushes near the property line.

Multiple agents engaged the gunman and fired at least four rounds at him. The gunman then dropped his AK-47 style rifle, two backpacks, a Go Pro camera and other items and fled in a black Nissan car.

Palm Beach County sheriff Ric Bradshaw said a witness managed to take a photo of the suspected gunman’s car and license plate and gave it to authorities.

Shortly after, sheriff’s deputies in neighboring Martin County stopped the suspect on Interstate 95 and took him into custody.

Posts on Ukraine, democracy

Reuters found profiles on X, Facebook, and LinkedIn for a Ryan Routh, and public access to the Facebook and X profiles was removed hours after the shooting.

The three accounts bearing Routh’s name suggest he was an avid supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia.

On April 21, Routh directed an X message to Elon Musk, in which he wrote: “I would like to buy a rocket from you. I wish to load it with a warhead for Putins Black sea mansion bunker to end him. Can you give me a price please.”

The New York Times reported it had interviewed Routh in 2023 for an article about Americans who were volunteering to help the Ukraine war effort. Routh told the Times he had travelled to Ukraine and spent several months there in 2022 and was trying to recruit Afghan soldiers who fled the Taliban to fight in Ukraine.

On X in 2020, Routh expressed support for Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and mocked Mr. Biden as “sleepy Joe.”

Earlier this year, Routh tagged Mr. Biden in a post on X: “@POTUS Your campaign should be called something like KADAF. Keep America democratic and free. Trumps should be MASA… make Americans slaves again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose.”

The suspected gunman’s son, Adam, reached by Reuters at the hardware store where he works in Hawaii, said he had not yet heard of the newest Trump assassination attempt and had “no information,” adding it was not something he believed his father would do.

Later, the reporter called back to the store and a colleague said Adam had gone home because of an emergency.

Another son of Routh’s, Oran, told CNN in a statement that “I don’t have any comment beyond a character profile of him as a loving and caring father… I don’t know what’s happened in Florida, and I hope things have just been blown out of proportion.”

Chicago:

At least four people were shot dead on a train in the US city of Chicago on Monday, police said, with a suspect apprehended soon after the mass shooting occurred.

Police said they responded to a 911 emergency hotline call early on Monday morning, arriving at the Forest Park train station where they found the four victims.

“Three were pronounced dead on scene, the fourth was transported to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where they were later pronounced,” a police statement said.

Gun violence is common in the United States, a country where there are more firearms than people. Attempts to clamp down on gun rights are always met with stiff political resistance.

Chicago police put out a description of the suspected offender based on surveillence footage, and a suspect was later taken into custody with a firearm also recovered, the statement said.

“This appears to be an isolated incident with no immediate threat to the community,” the statement said.

Chicago operates one of the largest public transportation networks in the United States, with more than 317,000 people using its train system on an average weekday, according to the Chicago Transit Authority.

“It’s a horrible situation. It’s definitely something that you don’t want to wake up to. It’s a Monday morning on a holiday,” police official Christopher Chin told reporters, referring to the Labor Day holiday being observed in the United States.

This year, there have been at least 378 mass shootings — defined as a shooting involving at least four victims — across the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

At least 11,463 people have been killed in firearms violence, according to the GVA.

In June, the US surgeon general issued a landmark advisory declaring gun violence a “public health crisis” and calling for wide-ranging firearm controls that have historically been quashed by political opposition.

Firearms in recent years have become the leading cause of deaths for Americans aged between one and 19, above motor vehicles, the report said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Four people were killed and three others injured in a shooting at a home in Kentucky in the US on Saturday, police said. According to the Florence Police Department, four individuals were declared dead at the location, while three others were taken to a nearby hospital and are currently in critical but stable condition.

Officers responded to the residence at nearly 3 am on Saturday and as they approached the home, they still heard shots being fired, Police Chief Jeff Mallery said at a press conference. People were attending a birthday pool party at that time.

The suspect, described as an adult male, fled the scene in a vehicle prior to police arrival, leading to a police chase. The suspect then drove off the road and crashed into a ditch. Law enforcement found the suspect with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, Xinhua news agency reported.

Party attendees recognised the suspect and provided his identity to the police. According to Mallery, he had a prior conviction for a sexual offence, though it does not appear to be connected to the shooting.

Officials said that an initial investigation indicated the suspect acted alone, and there was no danger to the public.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Amaravati:

A 32-year-old man from Andhra Pradesh was among four persons killed in firing at a grocery store in Arkansas in the United States.

The victim from Andhra Pradesh was identified as Dasari Gopikrishna, a native of Bapatla district who had gone to the US only eight months ago.

He was working at the Mad Butcher grocery store at Fordyce, a small town in Arkansas, where a gunman opened fire on June 21.

Gopikrishna, who was at the billing counter, sustained critical injuries. He succumbed at a hospital the next day. His family in Yajali in Karlapalem mandal of Bapatla district was shattered on receiving the news.

Gopikrishna is survived by a wife and a son.

Four persons were killed and nine injured when the gunman opened fire inside the store and at the parking lot.

Meanwhile, CCTV footage of the assailant entering the store and opening fire on the man at the counter has emerged. As the victim collapsed on the ground, the gunman jumped over the counter and escaped after lifting something from the shelf.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Two people were killed and three others sustained injuries and were rushed to a hospital in what officials called a workplace shooting in Chester, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday, CNN reported.

A suspect was arrested in Trainer, according to Chester Police Commissioner Steven Gretsky. The shooting incident took place at Delaware County Linen on Wednesday morning, according to Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteime.

Addressing a news conference, Stollsteimer said the suspect came to the workplace with a firearm and “took out his anger” on fellow employees.

Chester Mayor Stefan Roots said the suspect is a “disgruntled employee, a current employee,” of the business.”

“It speaks to guns in America…It’s heartbreaking, it’s tragic, it has to stop,” he said, according to a CNN report.

In the first five months of 2024, at least 168 mass shooting incidents have happened across the US, CNN reported, citing the Gun Violence Archive. The report said that the nonprofit and CNN define mass shootings as those where four or more victims were shot.

Earlier in April, two people were killed while 14 others were admitted to hospital after a block party turned deadly at a park in Memphis, Tennessee, the CNN quoted the police as saying.

According to the Memphis Police Department, three of those injured in the incident were immediately taken to hospitals in severe condition, and 11 more arrived at hospitals in private vehicles.

According to CNN, police said the shooting went down at a party where up to 300 people had gathered. Addressing the press, police disclosed that “a total of 16 victims were shot at the event.

“Officers responded at 7:19 pm (local time) to the scene, where they found five victims with gunshot wounds. Three of them were taken to local hospitals and two men were pronounced dead at the scene, according to CNN.

According to the police, no suspects were in custody as of Saturday night. Police believe at least two people opened fire at the event, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis said.

However, it’s unclear what led to the violence.

“We are working tirelessly tonight to identify the individuals who were involved in this shooting,” Davis said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Photo for representational purpose
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

A heavily armed man killed himself rather than carry out an apparent plan to shoot up a mountaintop amusement park in Colorado, U.S.A, his body discovered in a bathroom next to words scrawled on the wall, “I am not a killer,” authorities said Monday.

Diego Barajas Medina, 20, was found dead in a women’s bathroom at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park by a maintenance crew on Saturday morning, before the park opened to the public. He died of a self-inflected gunshot wound, Garfield County Coroner Robert Glassmire said.

Medina apparently entered the park while it was closed, armed with an AR-style rifle, a semi-automatic handgun and explosives and was wearing body armour and tactical clothing, similar to what a police SWAT team member might wear, authorities said.

A message saying, “I am not a killer, I just want to get into the caves,” was written on a wall of the bathroom where Medina’s body was found lying on the floor, Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario said. Nearby was a handgun and explosive devices, some real and some fake, he said. The AR-style rifle was on a counter nearby along with a duty belt holding several ammunition magazines.

Vallario could not say for certain that Medina wrote the message.

There were no prior indications, either at home or school, suggesting he was planning an attack, Vallario said. But the sheriff noted that investigators have not conducted any in-depth interviews yet. The FBI will help review Medina’s phone records and social media postings as part of the investigation, he said.

“Given the preparation, given the amount of weapons and ordinance he had it almost seemed very highly likely he intended to use those against the community. He chose not to,” Vallario said.

Multiple improvised explosive devices were found in the vehicle used by Medina, police said. Authorities searched the rest of the park for other explosives but suggested no others were found.

Medina’s body was removed Sunday after the scene was deemed safe, according to the coroner.

The park likely would have been crowded on a fall weekend during hunting season when people go to the mountains to see the changing autumn colors, Vallario said. Given the park’s isolated location, which visitors take a gondola to normally, it would have been difficult to get any wounded to the hospital, he said.

Medina was from the nearby town of Carbondale, where he lived with his mother and brother, Vallario said. In a list of high school graduates published in a local newspaper in 2021, Medina said he planned to work for a year after graduation before attending Colorado Mountain College, a community college with several locations in western Colorado.

A search of his room by law enforcement found nothing to indicate explosives or bomb-making, and he had no known criminal history or prior encounters with police, the sheriff said.

The weapons found on Medina were ghost guns, which do not have serial numbers and therefore cannot be traced. His clothing had patches and emblems that gave the appearance of Medina being associated with law enforcement.

Some of the suspected explosives turned out to be fakes — including several that looked like hand grenades — but others were real, the sheriff said. However, there was no evidence to suggest that explosive devices had been placed elsewhere inside the park, he said.

Investigators believe Medina drove up to the park on a service road.

The park, which is surrounded by state-owned public land, is on a mountain above the Colorado River in western Colorado. Its attractions include cave tours, an alpine coaster and a pendulum swing ride perched on the edge of a cliff that sends riders over the river canyon.

No employees or visitors were on scene when Medina entered the park, according to a statement issued Monday by Glenwood Caverns, and his body was found outside of restricted areas where rides are located.

“This very sad and tragic incident reminds us how much our Glenwood Springs community means to us,” Glenwood Caverns General Manager Nancy Heard said in the statement.

The Tampa Police Department and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office investigates a fatal shooting in the Ybor City neighborhood on October 29, 2023 in Tampa, Florida.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Police in Tampa, Florida, have arrested a man suspected of killing two people in gun violence that sparked chaos on Sunday around a clutch of bars and clubs as people celebrated Halloween, authorities said.

Sixteen people were injured, all but one by gunshot, police said.

Tyrell Stephen Phillips, 22, was charged with second-degree murder in the shooting deaths of a 14-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man following a pre-dawn clash between two groups in the historic Tampa neighborhood of Ybor City, police said.

The altercation unfolded as hundreds of people filled the streets as night spots closed after an evening of Halloween-themed celebrations, then scrambled for cover at the sound of gunfire.

Videos on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, showed pandemonium as people ran through the dark while at least a dozen shots rang out. In some of the footage, police officers were seen hurrying to help people in costumes bleeding on sidewalks.

Two people were killed and 16 were taken to hospital with injuries, 15 of them with gunshot wounds, police said in a statement.

Many of the injured, who ranged in age from 18 to 27, were treated and released, but five remained in hospital, police said.

Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said witness tips to investigators played key role in helping police identify and arrest the suspected gunman. It was not clear if any other suspects were being sought.

An unidentified shooter points a gun while entering Sparetime Recreation in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. 
| Photo Credit: AP

At least 22 people were killed and 50 to 60 wounded on Wednesday in mass shootings at multiple locations including a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine, U.S., NBC News reported, citing a Lewiston police source.

The Lewiston Police Department on Facebook identified a person of interest in the mass shooting at the bar and bowling alley as Robert Card, 40, saying he should be “considered armed and dangerous.”

Police earlier posted three photographs of an unidentified suspect pointing what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle, in addition to a picture of a white SUV, asking the public for help in identifying either.

The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office also posted pictures of the suspect, a bearded man in a brown hoodie jacket and jeans holding a rifle in the firing position.

“There is an active shooter in Lewiston,” Maine state police said previously on the social media platform X. “We ask people to shelter in place. Please stay inside your home with the doors locked. Law enforcement is currently investigating at multiple locations.”

The Sun Journal, citing a Lewiston police spokesperson, reported shootings at three separate businesses: the Sparetime Recreation bowling alley, Schemengees Bar & Grille Restaurant, and a Walmart distribution centre.

The bowling alley is about four miles (6.5 km) north of the bar, and the distribution centre is about a mile and a half (2.5 km) south of the bar.

The Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston issued a statement saying it was “reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter event” and coordinating with area hospitals to take patients.

Lewiston is part of and about 35 miles (56 k.m.) north of Maine’s largest city, Portland.

Lewiston, a former textile hub and town of 38,000 people in Androscoggin County, is located in southern Maine about midway between the state capital, Augusta, and Portland, the state’s most populous city

President Joe Biden has been briefed and will continue to receive updates, a U.S. official said in Washington.

The President spoke by phone individually to Maine Governor Janet Mills, Senators Angus King and Susan Collins, and Congressman Jared Golden about the shooting in Lewiston and offered full federal support in the wake of the attack, the White House said.

If the death toll of 22 is confirmed, the massacre would be the deadliest in the United States since at least August 2019, when a gunman opened fire on shoppers at an El Paso Walmart with an AK-47 rifle, killing 23 in a shooting that prosecutors branded an anti-Hispanic hate crime, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The 22 fatalities would also be on par with the number of homicides that normally occur in Maine in any given year. The number of annual homicides in the state has fluctuated between 16 and 29 since 2012, according to Maine State Police.

The number of U.S. shootings in which four or more people were shot has surged since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, with 647 occurring in 2022 and 679 projected to occur in 2023, based on trends as of July, according to data from the archive.

The deadliest U.S. mass shooting on record is the massacre of 58 people by a gunman firing on a Las Vegas country music festival from a high-rise hotel perch in 2017.

Several videos have surfaced on social media showing people running away in fear as a gunman opened fire at the State Fair of Texas on Saturday. The shooting happened near the food court just before 8 p.m. Saturday, sending hundreds of fairgoers into a state of panic. 

The police said the gunman opened fire and ran from the scene before being apprehended a short distance away. Three people were shot, two adult males and one adult female, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were listed in stable condition.

Videos shared on social media showed the frantic and chaotic aftermath of the shooting.

Watch the videos here:

state fair of texas shooting #dallas#statefair#dallastexas#StatefairofTexaspic.twitter.com/eKPTuqt2v3

— Ángel (@0222tx) October 15, 2023

The shooting at the Texas State Fair of Texas tonight reminds us that gun violence is way too prevalent in our society. Allowing a license to carry individual to carry a gun into a crowded event, like the State Fair, is not a good policy and does not make the event safer. pic.twitter.com/z9B3gqu6LA

— CollinCountyDemocrats (@CollinDems) October 15, 2023

Scariest moment of my life. Active shooter at the State Fair of Texas. #activeshooter#statefair#texasstatefair#statefairoftexas#shooterpic.twitter.com/vI9FylkqJk

— Lauren (@Lph0711) October 15, 2023

One eye-witness told CBS News, “We were just getting on to the Ferris wheel and we heard screaming. We didn’t hear shots and then everyone started running towards the exit. The workers would not tell us what had happened and just told us the fair was closed. There were many police that were heavily armed at the exits and police throughout being very stern, ushering everyone to go home.”
 

def not what u wanna see at the top of the ferris wheel at the texas state fair pic.twitter.com/zx8V7p1frh

— awbs (@cans0fsoup) October 15, 2023

Dallas Councilman Adam Bazaldua said the shooting was “sparked from a conflict between two people who knew each other.” The police later identified the suspect as 22-year-old Cameron Turner and charged him with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The State Fair of Texas made a statement Sunday morning that its team is “deeply saddened by the incident last night on the fairgrounds.”

It continued to say, “Safety is the number one priority of the State Fair of Texas. We are committed to upholding the level of security required to ensure the State Fair of Texas event is a safe and family-friendly environment for all fairgoers, vendors, and employees. We look forward to welcoming guests today (Sunday, 10/15) starting at 2:00 p.m. We ask that everyone remain “Fair Aware.” If you see something that doesn’t look right on the fairgrounds, please say something to a uniformed police officer or State Fair Safety Team member.”

Notably, The Texas State Fair allows people with valid handgun licenses to carry their weapons ”in a concealed manner”. The fair is planning to enhance security during the final week of operations.

A 19-year-old man in the United States was arrested after the police found written threats for a “shooting spree” and other attacks at his former school and different locations during a routine traffic stop, as per a report in CNN. The man from South Florida planned to “kill everyone” at Okeechobee High School with his guns on January 2, 2026, which happens to be his 22nd birthday.

Henry Horton IV was stopped by the cops on September 18 for a broken headlight on the white pickup truck he was driving. During a search of Horton’s car, the officer discovered many handwritten notes detailing a plot to buy handguns and “kill everyone at OHS (Okeechobee High School) with my guns,” according to the affidavit from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. It is to be noted that the 19-year-old graduated from high school in May 2022. He had planned to kill 15 people including an administrator at the school.

An examination of his phone revealed specifics for many state mass murder plots, plans to make a bomb, and intentions to murder his stepmother. According to the affidavit, Horton had admitted to having mental health issues in the past and had “been having multiple thoughts about mass homicide and want(ing) to execute them once he turned 22 years old.” 

Before he was stopped, authorities questioned him where he was going. As per the affidavit, Horton stated he was travelling to Miami to look at a church, where he wanted to murder roughly ten people after his planned 2026 assault at his former school.

Further, he was sent to “a hospital to receive a mental health evaluation under the Florida Mental Health Act”, as per the outlet. On September 29, Horton revealed to investigators that he composed a manifesto and made threats to kill his stepmother. He was arrested and charged with intimidation with written threats to murder or hurt another person.

As per New York Post, his mother Marcie Horton said that her son was “a ‘good kid’ and would never have actually carried out the plan.” She also urged officials to help him seek the required mental health treatment. Stepmother Alisha Horton also stated that he would never “hurt” her. “Henry isn’t going to hurt me. He would never. He needs to be treated for a mental disability instead of as a criminal,” she said.