Former President Donald Trump was safe Sunday after a gunman targeted him while he golfed in South Florida, according to law enforcement officials, in what the FBI said appeared to be a second assassination attempt in three months.
The Trump campaign and Secret Service said the former president and Republican presidential nominee was unharmed following the incident at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. A Secret Service agent patrolling the sprawling course ahead of the hole Trump had just finished spotted a rifle “sticking out of a fence line” and engaged the suspect, a Palm Beach law enforcement official said Sunday afternoon. The suspect fled before being detained on I-95 in a neighboring county.
Law enforcement officials who briefed reporters late Sunday afternoon did not reveal the suspect’s identity, but one Palm Beach County official referred to him as “a guy.” They said agents recovered an AK-47 rifle with a scope, two backpacks that included ceramic tiles and a GoPro camera in the woods “near the property line.” The GoPro was attached to the fence, a picture released by the FBI showed.
Criminal charges were expected to be filed soon, the Palm Beach official said.
“We have somebody in custody right now that is a potential suspect. We got a little bit more work to do on it, but as we usually do, as soon as we decide that we’re going to book him into the county jail and the charges that he’s going to be booked into, we’ll get those to you, and we’ll get a picture of them, and we’ll get you his background,” Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.
Trump was “one or two holes behind” where the gunman had set up along the championship-level course, which spans over 7,000 yards, Bradshaw said. The GOP nominee was “probably between [300] and 500 yards” away from the would-be shooter, “but with a rifle on the scope like that, that’s not a long distance,” Bradshaw said.
A Secret Service official who also briefed reporters said the agent patrolling ahead of Trump and his golf partner “did a fantastic job” and immediately opened fire on the gunman. He was unsure if any shots were fired in return.
A witness saw the suspect run out of the woods and get into a black Nissan SUV, aiding law enforcement by taking a picture of the vehicle, including the license plate, Bradshaw said. That allowed an emergency bulletin to be issued to all law enforcement agencies in the area, and the Nissan was pulled over by officers in neighboring Martin County.
“There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” Nothing will slow me down,” Trump said an email his campaign issued around 4 p.m. that included a button to make online contributions. “I will NEVER SURRENDER! I will always love you for supporting me. Unity. Peace. Make America Great Again.”
The FBI, which is leading a local, state and federal investigation, issued a statement about 45 minutes later stating it had “responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”
A Secret Service spokesman said in a X post that the agency was “investigating a protective incident involving former President Donald Trump that occurred shortly before 2 p.m. The former president is safe.”
Sheriff William Snyder of Martin County, Fla., told WPTV that officers with his department located a vehicle on I-95 northbound identified by Palm Beach, Fla., law enforcement officials believed to be linked to the shooting. Martin County officers stopped the SUV and removed a male driver.
“That driver is now in custody in the hands of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” Snyder told WPTV. “I would describe him as having a relatively calm demeanor. He was not displaying a lot of emotions. Never asked, ‘What is this about?’”
Members of both parties in the House and Senate were critical of top Secret Service officials following the attempted assassination in July at a Trump rally in Butler County, Pa., that killed two supporters and resulted in the former president’s ear being grazed by a bullet. A second attempt on Trump’s life could add a major issue to what’s left of both chambers’ September session ahead of a planned October campaign break.
“The threat level is high. We have increased the amount of assets” devoted to protecting Trump, the Secret Service official told reporters. “We live in dangerous times.”
Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, said in a post on X that he spoke with the Republican nominee and “he was, amazingly, in good spirits. Still much we don’t know, but I’ll be hugging my kids extra tight tonight and saying a prayer of gratitude.”
The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s general election opponent, had been informed of the apparent assassination attempt.
“The president and vice president have been briefed about the security incident at the Trump International Golf Course, where former President Trump was golfing,” the White House said in a statement. “They are relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team.”
Harris later posted on X: “I have been briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida, and I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.”
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