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What the area around Trump International Golf Club looks like day after apparent assassination attempt

'When somebody gets into the shrubbery, they're pretty much out of sight,' Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw says

Politics is a rough and tumble game that local political experts and historians say is currently filled with anger, finger pointing, and rarely any middle ground.

By: Jamie Ostroff

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and last updated

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Summit Boulevard remained closed west of South Congress Avenue in West Palm Beach Monday, the day after authorities say a man pointed a rifle through the fence of the Trump International Golf Club, in an apparent attempt to assassinate former president Donald Trump as he played golf.

The suspect, Ryan Routh, 58, faces federal firearms charges connected to the Sunday incident.

Despite the heavy law enforcement presence by federal authorities and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office on one side of the golf course, the side of the course facing South Congress was exposed Monday afternoon. There were visible gaps in the bushes that obstruct the view between the golf course and the street, near where Sunday's incident took place.

While there were "no trespassing" signs on the strip of grass between the golf club and the sidewalk, the area is open to the public and cordoned off only by the bushes and a chain-link fence.

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Deputies Monday would not allow people to walk on the grass outside the fence surrounding the golf course, although the area was not taped off.

"When somebody gets into the shrubbery, they're pretty much out of sight," said Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw during a press conference Sunday. "At this level that (Trump) is at right now, he is not the sitting president. If he was, we would have had the entire golf course surrounded. But because he's not, the security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible."

Bradshaw also said the area was safe and that his agency would ensure public access to a nearby post office, school and public library Monday.

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According to law enforcement, a Secret Service agent spotted Routh and fired shots before Routh fled.

During a news conference Monday, authorities said Routh did not fire his rifle.

A Secret Service official said Sunday that Trump's security bubble moves one hole ahead of the former president on the golf course, clearing the area before he arrives.'

WPTV's coverage on Trump apparent assassination attempt: