From Donald Trump to George W Bush, the assassination attempts on US leaders

Within two months of an attempted assassination at an election rally, former US President Donald Trump once again became a target in another assassination attempt on Sunday (September 15).

The incident took place at the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach in Florida where the former US president had been golfing. As per the officials, a man was seen with a rifle in the bushes and the Secret Service shot at the suspected assassin.

While the man fled from the scene, he left behind a GoPro action camera, his firearm and two backpacks among other things, noted a report by Hindustan Times.

Meanwhile, the man has been arrested and identified as Ryan Routh by the FBI, Associated Press quoted some law enforcement officials.

But this is not the first time such an incident has taken place. American presidents have faced a similar situation like this several times. Here is a list of presidents who have faced a similar fate

Trump’s earlier assassination attempt incident

Trump was shot at earlier in an ‘attempted assassination’ in July this year at an election rally in Pennsylvania. The president was wounded in the ear during this incident.

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George W Bush

Bush was attending a rally in 2005 in Georgia’s Tbilisi when a man later identified as Vladimir Arutyunian threw a hand grenade at the president. Fortunately, it did not explode thus, harming nobody in the process.

After the Georgian police raided his apartment, he opened fire killing one Georgian police officer. Once he admitted to the crime in hopes of killing Bush, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Bill Clinton

Bush’s predecessor, Bill Clinton was also a target of an assassination attempt in 1994. The incident took place when he was inside the White House and Francisco Martin Duran fired at the building.

While Clinton remained unscathed, the man was sentenced to 40 years in prison after being convicted of the assassination attempt.

Ronald Reagan

Like Trump’s first assassination, Reagan had been giving a speech in Washington, DC when John Hinckley Jr shot at him. At the same time, the bullet pierced the 40th president’s lung. The bullet missed his heart and by a thread.

According to the Reagan Library, the ex-president’s wounds were not noticed until he began to “cough up blood”. Three others were also injured in the fatal shooting incident. While Hinckley was arrested, he was found not guilty on account of insanity, according to Al Jazeera.

Robert F Kennedy

John F Kennedy’s younger brother, Robert F Kennedy, had been campaigning under the Democratic nomination in 1968 when he had won the California primary election.

Kennedy was shot on June 5, 1968, by a man named Sirhan Sirhan and died the following day.

John F Kennedy

The elder Kennedy had been riding in his motorcade in Dallas when he was shot dead in 1963.

A certain Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested by the police and shot dead by a Dallas nightclub owner, as per a report by Al Jazeera. Kennedy died two days later in a hospital after being shot.

Franklin Roosevelt

The 32nd US president was shot at in an attempted assassination in Miami in 1933. A man named Giuseppe Zangara took the shot at Roosevelt.

While the president remained unharmed, the incident saw the mayor of Chicago Anton Cermak being killed.

Theodore Roosevelt

Roosevelt was shot in Milwaukee in 1912 while he was running for the White House. Even though he managed to escape death, the bullet remained lodged in his chest for the rest of his life.

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James Garfield

He was shot at a train station in Washington DC in 1881 just six months after taking office. His killer Charles Guiteau was found guilty and executed in 1882. Garfield died of his wounds a few weeks later.

Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln was watching a play with his wife in Washington, DC when he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Although the 16th president was tended to medically, he breathed his last a day later. Booth was shot dead after being found 12 days later in Virginia.

With inputs from agencies