By Evan Bevins and Jess Mancini, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Representatives of the local Republican and Democratic parties Monday condemned the second attempt to assassinate Donald Trump.
“Any attempt on any president is just plain wrong,” said West Virginia Delegate Scot Heckert, chairman of the Republican Party in Wood County.
“It goes to show that the world has lost touch with reality and common sense. There’s no room for that in anything,” he said. “Elections should be decided by the people, not a bullet.”
Trump was playing golf at his club in West Palm Beach, Fla., when a Secret Service agent saw a rifle barrel sticking out from behind a fence. The agent fired upon the barrel and the suspect ran away, leaving behind an AK-47-style rifle with a scope.
Ryan Wesley Routh, the alleged lone gunman, fled in his vehicle and was arrested shortly after the incident. He got between 300 and 500 yards from the former president, according to Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of Palm Beach County.
Everyone involved, responsible for or who choreographs an assassination attempt “should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Heckert said.
Sunday’s incident was the second attempt since July on Trump, whose ear was grazed by a bullet at a rally in Butler, Pa. Corey Comperatore, 50, a father of two girls, was killed when he dove onto his family to protect them from the gunfire.
“This type of violence in politics and everyday life is just terrible,” said Jeff Fox, chairman of the Wood County Democratic Party. “Certainly no one can condone any type of violence against any candidates.”
