Suspect lay in wait for 12 hours

Alleged gunman camped outside Florida golf course, court records show

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The man suspected in an apparent assassination attempt targeting Donald Trump camped outside a Florida golf course with food and a rifle for nearly 12 hours, lying in wait for the former U.S. president before a Secret Service agent thwarted the potential attack and opened fire, according to court documents filed Monday.

Ryan Routh did not fire any shots, never had Trump in his line of sight and sped away after being shot at by an agent who spotted him, officials said. He was arrested in a neighbouring county.

Routh, 58, appeared in federal court in West Palm Beach to face federal firearms charges, starting a criminal case in the final weeks of a presidential race already touched by violence and upheaval. Though no one was injured, the episode marked the second attempt on Trump's life in as many months, raising questions about the security provided to him during a time of amped-up political rhetoric and what the Secret Service chief called an "unprecedented and hyper-dynamic threat environment."