The man accused of trying to assassinate former President Donald Trump staked out his South Florida golf club for nearly 12 hours Sunday before Secret Service agents fired shots at the gunman — who law enforcement officials believed was waiting for the Republican president nominee in the shrubbery with an assault rifle and scope.

Ryan Routh, 58, is facing charges of possession of a gun with a scratched-out serial number and possessing a gun illegally as a felon. The man, who lives in Hawaii, made his first appearance Monday morning in West Palm Beach.

Shortly before 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Trump’s security team noticed an AK-47-style rifle poking out from a fence, leading an agent to shoot in that direction, according to the affidavit. The rifle, two backpacks and a GoPro camera were recovered in the bushes.

The serial number on the AK-47, per the filing, “was obliterated and unreadable to the naked eye.” The weapon was within 400 yards to 500 yards of the former president.

Cell phone records obtained by federal agents linked Routh’s phone number, which he had posted on social media, to the vicinity of the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach from 1:59 a.m. to 1:31 p.m. — a span of almost 12 hours.

A witness who spotted Routh “coming out of the bushes” snapped photos of the Nissan SUV and its license plate, law enforcement said in a news conference. About 45 minutes after the shooting, officers pulled over Routh on Interstate 95 in Martin County, just north of Palm Beach County.

The license plate on the SUV, the affidavit says, had been reported stolen and was registered to 2012 white Ford truck. The witness also identified Routh as the man he saw fleeing from the bushes.

The apparent attempted assassination comes months after Trump was grazed by a bullet in the first attempt on his life at a rally in Pennsylvania.

©2024 Miami Herald. Visit at miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.