See how close suspected assassin Ryan Routh came to shooting Trump from a secret sniper's nest

The photos tell a frightening story.

A gunman crawled through bushes near Donald Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday afternoon and came within 500 yards of the former president, authorities said. Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, had been hiding in a fence with the muzzle of his AK-47 rifle when it was discovered by a Secret Service agent. He was the last line of defense between that weapon and Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.

“With a rifle and a scope, that's not a great distance,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a press conference Sunday afternoon.

Pictures of the crime scene released by authorities after the allegedly foiled assassination attempt show the makeshift sniper's nest that Routh allegedly used before agents opened fire on his position. Hanging from the chain-link fence are two bags, a black backpack with ceramic tiles and a camouflaged suitcase, as well as a GoPro camera.

Also visible are vines growing up the fence, concealing the shooter's position from officers who, according to authorities, were watching for danger several holes ahead of Trump, who played the first nine holes of the course.

“The golf course is surrounded by bushes, so if someone goes into the bushes, they are basically out of sight,” Bradshaw said.

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CHANDAN KHANNA

After agents opened fire on the gunman, witnesses reported seeing the suspect run from the scene and jump into a black Nissan SUV. A passerby was able to take a photo of the license plate, which helped authorities locate the vehicle in neighboring Martin County.

Photos from the arrest scene on I-95 show patrol cars surrounding the suspect's SUV.

Shortly after the incident, Fox News host Sean Hannity described Trump's version of the day's events.

The former president was about to make his putt on the fifth hole when he heard “pop pop pop.” According to the Associated Press, within seconds, another golfer in Trump's group said that Secret Service agents had “pounced” on Trump and “covered” him for his protection.

Martin County Sheriff's Office

The suspect is from North Carolina and Hawaii and has donated money to various Democrats 19 times since 2019, according to Federal Election Commission records.

At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Sheriff Bradshaw also noted that Trump's security measures could have been more stringent.

“In this position that he is in right now, he is not the sitting president. If he were, we would have had the entire golf course surrounded. But because he is not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service believes are possible,” Bradshaw said.

Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

“I would imagine that the next time he comes to a golf course, there will probably be a few more people standing on the sidelines. But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done,” Bradshaw said.

Rafael Barros, the Secret Service special agent in Miami, acknowledged that “the threat level (to Trump) is high,” according to Axios.

“We have increased the amount of assets we support,” Barros said. “We live in dangerous times.”