New details emerge about suspect who pointed gun at Donald Trump

WASHINGTON — Authorities have identified the man who they say pointed a rifle with a scope into former President Donald Trump's Florida golf club. 

The suspect in custody is Ryan Wesley Routh, three law enforcement officials told the Associated Press on Sunday. The officials who identified the suspect spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

U.S. Secret Service agents posted a few holes up from where Trump was playing noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through the shrubbery that lines the course, roughly 400 yards away.

An agent fired and the gunman dropped the rifle and fled in an SUV, leaving the firearm behind along with two backpacks, a scope used for aiming and a GoPro camera, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said. The man was later taken into custody in a neighboring county.

The incident was the latest jarring moment in a campaign year marked by unprecedented upheaval. On July 13, Trump was shot during an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear. Eight days later, Democratic President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, giving way for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the party's nominee.

It was not immediately clear whether the incident would affect Trump's campaign schedule. 

The FBI was leading the investigation and was working to determine any motive. Attorney General Merrick Garland was receiving regular updates. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were helping investigate.