Gun violence has made it “nearly impossible” to protect school children and political candidates, a former FBI assistant director has said.
Frank Figliuzzi was reacting to an assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday.
Trump was playing golf at his West Palm Beach resort when a gunman allegedly fired shots from a perimeter fence. A suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, was later arrested.
“We seem to have reached a critical decision point in our society. We can no longer guarantee the safety of either the most vulnerable in our country—our school children, or the most highly protected officials. This is particularly true in open-air environments,” Figliuzzi told Newsweek.
Donald Trump on August 8, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. The former president was the subject of an assassination attempt in West Palm Beach on Sunday, September 15.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Figliuzzi is a former assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI, where he served 25 years as a special agent and directed espionage investigations.
“The pervasiveness of weapons, particularly in ‘open carry’ states, combined with the inability for us to fully address mental-health issues, makes it nearly impossible to guarantee the safety of even Secret Service protectees,” he said.
Florida is open carry in limited circumstances—such as coming and going to a hunting or target practice event. Other states, such as Texas, allow greater open-carry options without requiring a separate permit.
“The decision we need to wrestle with, quickly, is whether we want to live like this,” Figliuzzi said.
“Already, our political nominees speak at outdoor rallies from behind bullet-resistant glass. Are we moving toward a time where we have virtually no in-person contact with a candidate or nominee? Are we going to tell nominees that they can’t step outside? Or, is it time for both political parties to take action to reduce access to assault style weapons?” he said.
Shots were fired at Trump National Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday where the 2024 GOP presidential nominee was golfing. No injuries have been reported, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office’
The FBI later said it was joining the investigation into the shooting.
West Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference on Sunday that a Secret Service agent spotted the barrel of a gun sticking out of the fence of the golf course and “engaged” with the suspect. The gunman may have gotten to within 300 yards of Trump, law enforcement said at the conference.
In a Facebook post on Sunday afternoon, Martin County Sheriff’s Office said that it had “stopped a vehicle and taken a suspect into custody believed to be connected to a shooting incident at Trump International in Palm Beach County.” Martin County is located north of West Palm Beach.
The suspect, Routh, appeared to have a checkered criminal history.
Records show that in 2002, Routh was driving without a valid license and was stopped by police. He then sped off and barricaded himself inside his own roofing company for three hours before surrendering to police.
He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, resisting a police officer and driving without a valid license among other charges.
Newsweek sought email comment from Routh’s family on Monday.
The shooting comes two months after Trump was struck by a bullet that pierced his right ear at an outdoor campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 in an assassination attempt. The 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, who fired rounds from a nearby roof, was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper.
