The FBI said Sunday it was investigating an “apparent assassination attempt” on Donald Trump at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, just nine weeks after the Republican presidential candidate survived another attempt on his life. Trump said he was fine.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw said Secret Service agents shot a man who was pointing an AK-style rifle at the club while Trump was playing golf. The gunman was also carrying two bags hanging from a fence and a GoPro camera, Bradshaw said, and was about 400 to 500 yards from Trump and hiding in the bushes while the former president played golf on a nearby hole. The man dropped the weapon and fled in an SUV, and was later taken into custody in a neighboring county.
The incident was the latest shocking moment in a campaign year marked by unprecedented turmoil, coming nearly two months after Trump was shot during a protest in Florida. Assassination attempt At a rally in Pennsylvania, A bullet pierced his ear.Just one week later, President Joe Biden dropped out of the race.
In an email to his supporters, Trump said: “There have been shots fired in my vicinity, but before the rumors start getting out of hand, I wanted you to hear this first: I am safe and well!”
“Nothing will stop me, I will never give up!” said the former president.
Bradshaw said the golf course was partially closed to Trump while he was playing, and agents were a few holes in front of him when they noticed the person holding the firearm. There are several areas around the perimeter of the property where golfers can be seen from the fence line. Secret Service agents and officers in golf carts and on ATVs generally secure the area with several holes in front of and behind Trump while he is playing golf. Agents also typically bring an armored vehicle to the course to quickly shelter Trump in the event of a threat.
Trump returned to Florida this week from a West Coast tour that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a fundraiser in Utah. His campaign has offered no advice on Trump’s plans for Sunday. Trump often spends his mornings playing golf, before having lunch at the club, one of three he owns in the state.
The former president has beefed up security since the assassination attempt in July. When he was at Trump Tower in New York, a line of trucks were parked against a wall outside the building. At outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind a bulletproof glass barrier.
Trump returned safely after the incident to his private club, Mar-a-Lago, where he lives in nearby Palm Beach, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, had been briefed on the investigation and would be updated. The White House added that they were “relieved” to know that Trump was safe.
Harris said in a statement that she was “glad” that Trump was safe, adding that “violence has no place in America.”
In a post on X, Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s most prominent allies in Congress, said he spoke with Trump after the incident and that Trump was “in good spirits” and “one of the strongest people I have ever known.”
Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder said the suspect was arrested within minutes of the FBI, Secret Service and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office issuing a “very urgent alert” — or “be on standby” — detailing the specific vehicle wanted, the license plate number and a description of the passenger.
Snyder said his deputies “immediately flooded” Interstate 95 northbound, posting at every exit between the Palm Beach County line to the south and the St. Lucie County line to the north.
“One of my highway patrol units saw the vehicle, we matched the tag, we monitored the vehicle, we safely stopped it and took the driver into custody,” Snyder said.
The suspect “was not armed when we pulled him out of the vehicle,” Snyder told WPTV.
Snyder said the man had a calm, even demeanor and showed no emotion when stopped by police, adding that the suspect did not question why he was stopped.
“He never asked, ‘What’s up?’ It was obviously law enforcement with long guns and blue lights and a lot of other stuff. He never questioned it,” Snyder said.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has been briefed on the situation and is receiving regular updates, the Justice Department spokeswoman said.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office post said the suspect was arrested near Palm City, Florida, about a 45-mile drive north of the Trump golf course. The northbound lanes of Interstate 95 were closed, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said.
A message sent to campaign officials seeking information about the security status and location of Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Trump’s running mate, was not immediately returned.
Max Egoskiza, of Palm Beach, described the emergency response outside the Trump golf course in West Palm Beach.
“I saw five unmarked black SUVs parked in front of the golf course with a grey Mercedes. There were about 20 or more police cars flying in from nearby streets,” he said.
Trump is set to talk about cryptocurrencies live on social media platform X Monday night to launch his sons’ cryptocurrency platform. He is expected to do so from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The former president is set to return to the campaign trail on Tuesday for a meeting in Flint, Michigan, with his former press secretary, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, followed by a rally in New York on Long Island on Wednesday.
He is scheduled to attend and speak at the Israeli American Council’s National Summit in Washington, D.C., over the weekend, and will hold a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Saturday.