‘There were warning signs’: Neighbors describe ‘strange behavior’ of assassination attempt suspect

By Kate Hussey

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    GREENSBORO, North Carolina (WPTV) — Neighbors of accused gunman, Ryan Routh, told WPTV there were warning signs the suspect exhibited prior to his alleged assassination attempt on former President, Donald Trump.

WPTV wanted to know more about Routh, so we sent our Kate Hussey to Greensboro, North Carolina, where he resided for decades.

She spoke to neighbors who provided more insight into the alleged gunman’s past and uncovered a lengthy criminal history.

According to records from the Guilford County Courthouse, Routh has several prior convictions dating back to the early 2000s.

Most notable was an arrest in 2002 for possession of a weapon fo mass destruction. The weapon was described as a binary explosive with a 10-inch detonation cord and a blasting cap.

Other convictions include three misdemeanor concealed weapons charges in 2002, three possession of stolen goods convictions in 2010, and resisting a public officer charge in 2002.

According to local media reports, Routh was arrested for barricading himself inside a roofing company called United Roofing after fleeing from an officer during a traffic stop. The charges in the local reports at the time of the incident match the charges WPTV uncovered in court documents.

The roofing company’s address matches that of several of Routh’s listed relatives.

Neighbors of Routh had mixed reactions to the news.

“I was really surprised when they told me,” said nextdoor neighbor, Elaine Mungo.

Mungo told Hussey she couldn’t believe he is a suspect in an assassination attempt, and said Routh was usually quiet and kept to himself.

“Were they a nice family? Did they seem normal?” Hussey asked Mungo.

“Yeah,” said Mungo. “I didn’t know nothin’ was goin’ on.”

Mungo told Hussey she often saw police activity outside Routh’s house, and another neighbor who asked not to go on camera told us the same thing.

Neighbors said Routh lived in the house with his daughter.

His house appears to have been vacant for quite some time, and neighbors said they haven’t seen Routh since he went door to door trying to sell his home to move to Hawaii.

That was about five months ago, and neighbors said they haven’t seen him since.

“He was kind of like, a strange guy,” said Josh Patrick, who lives two houses down.

Patrick said he wasn’t very surprised to hear the latest allegations, telling WPTV he’d see Routh pacing in the road late and night, and said Routh would sometimes follow him when he was walking down the street.

“His behaviors were just really strange, like he’d walk past here really quickly, kept pace with me for no reason, had no reason to be out at midnight,” said Patrick.

“Did he ever say anything about Trump or Ukraine?” Hussey asked.

“No,” replied Patrick. “He was a very, very quiet person, he was very jumpy, reserved, didn’t really speak out loud too much, and didn’t come off as a political person at all, seemed very… like…. kind of dangerous?”

“Were you surprised?” Hussey asked another neighbor, who asked not to share her name.

“No I wasn’t surprised,” she replied. “I mean, I thought it was weird that he looked like he was…he looked like he was trekking, or something, always with a backpack.”

WPTV tried reaching Routh’s family who, according to property records, still live in Greensboro, but no one answered the door. They haven’t returned our phone calls or emails.

We also tried to reach United Roofing but did not receive a response.

“Yeah, there were warning signs there,” said Patrick. “I guess there was nothing he did that I could report to the police as a suspect or someone we should be worried about.”

WPTV also reached out to local law enforcement regarding any prior investigations into Routh’s criminal past, but they either deferred us to the FBI or declined to speak.

We also requested arrest affidavits and other documents involved in Routh’s previous convictions to continue searching for answers.

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