4 days Ago
Federal authorities are investigating a potential assassination attempt against Donald Trump on Sunday after a man with a weapon appeared near his golf course in Florida as the former president was golfing. Trump was unharmed and said he was “safe and well.” Secret Service opened fire on the man, who fled in a vehicle.
A suspect was later taken into custody after a chase. “The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,” the agency said in a statement Sunday. Trump was uninjured and was rushed away after the U.
S. Secret Service spotted a man with a gun and fired around 1:30 p.m.
, law enforcement officials said. A rifle was found near where the man was spotted, the officials said. It was unclear whether the man was able to fire any shots, or if the only shots were fired by the Secret Service.
Trump said in a statement: “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!” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, during a news conference Sunday evening, said a Secret Service agent who was going ahead of Trump on the course to secure the area saw a man with an AK-47-style rifle with a scope in the tree line. Trump was about “300 to 500 yards away,” Bradshaw said. The agent opened fire.
Bradshaw said local officials responded quickly to the Secret Service’s call, and said that officials quickly identified a witness who had seen the alleged gunman run out of the bushes and into a black Nissan. The witness photographed the car, and officials with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office were able to stop the individual on Interstate 95. Per the witness, Bradshaw said, the individual was also carrying two backpacks full of ceramic tiles.
The suspect also had a GoPro camera. “We have somebody in custody right now that is a potential suspect,” Bradshaw said, adding that officials will have more details on the suspect once he is booked into the county jail. State Attorney for Palm Beach County David Aronberg said prosecutors are working on warrants and a motion for the suspect’s pretrial detention.
The incident occurred nine weeks after an assassination attempt against Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. According to two people briefed on the incident in Florida, the former president was golfing at Trump International Golf Club with Steve Witkoff, a close friend and adviser, and others. The Secret Service has long been concerned about Trump’s vulnerability on his golf courses, which remain open to parts of the public and are often near heavily trafficked areas.
Bradshaw noted that, if Trump were the sitting president, officials would have had “the entire golf course surrounded.” “But because he’s not, the security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible,” he said. “So I would imagine the next time he comes to the golf course there’ll probably be a little bit more people around the perimeter.
But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done. They provided exactly what the protection should have been.” Trump was held at the club for several hours as his Secret Service detail and advisers sought to ensure Mar-a-Lago, his primary residence a few miles away, was secure — and that it was safe to make the trip there.
Trump was in good spirits, telling one friend he wished he could have finished his golf game, and he took calls for much of the afternoon, said a person close to him, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a private call. Trump said that during the round, they had no idea where the shots were coming from and were just bustled to safety, this person said. Palm Beach County sheriff’s officers blocked off more than a half-dozen intersections surrounding Trump International on Sunday afternoon.
The property is just a few miles from Mar-a-Lago, but it is in a more urban setting than the club in Palm Beach. The Palm Beach County Jail looks down on Trump International from the north, and across the street is the county’s main library and a U.S.
Postal Service distribution center. The White House said in a statement that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been briefed about the incident. The two are “relieved to know that he is safe,” the White House said, and they will be updated on the case.
Harris said in a post on X that she has 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.” Trump had just returned from a several-day swing out west, and he usually golfs daily if he is in Florida.
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