The semiautomatic rifle the Secret Service says they spotted scoping out Donald Trump on a golf course has been taken away as evidence … and the weapon looks big and powerful.
New photos show police carrying the gun away from Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach in an evidence box Sunday … and loading it into the back of a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s crime scene van.
Law enforcement says the weapon, an SKS-style rifle with a scope, was loaded when it was recovered … and the gun’s serial number was “obliterated and unreadable.”
Law enforcement claims Ryan Wesley Routh, the man suspected of attempting to assassinate Trump, showed up at the golf course Sunday armed with this rifle, 2 bags, and a digital camera.
TMZ Studios
The Secret Service says agents noticed the rifle sticking out from some shrubbery about 400 yards from where Trump was playing golf, with an agent responding to the potential threat by shooting into the bushes where the rifle was spotted.
Routh allegedly dropped the gun and fled in a nearby SUV after the Secret Service fired at him … and sheriff’s deputies finally caught up to him about 50 miles north of Trump’s golf club, arresting him.
So far, Routh’s been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number … more charges are expected and he’s already appeared in court.
