The FBI said Sunday it was investigating “what appears to be an attempted assassination” of Donald Trump at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla., just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee survived another such attempt. Trump said he was safe and well.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said U.S. Secret Service agents fired at a man pointing an AK-style rifle with a scope into the club as Trump was on the course.
Bradshaw said the gunman also had two backpacks hanging on a fence and a GoPro camera, and that he was about 400 yards to 500 yards away (365 to 457 metres) from Trump and hiding in shrubbery while the former president played golf on a nearby hole.
The person dropped the weapon and fled in an SUV, and was later taken into custody in a neighbouring county.
The incident was the latest jarring moment in a campaign year marked by unprecedented upheaval. It occurred roughly two months after Trump was shot during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear. Only a week later, President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
Donald Trump told the crowd at the Republican National Convention what happened during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on Saturday. The former president said it’s the only time he’ll tell the story because it’s too painful for him to recount.
In an email to supporters, Trump said: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumours start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!
“Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”
The golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, and agents were a few holes ahead of him when they noticed the person with the firearm, Bradshaw said. There are several areas around the perimeter of the property where golfers are visible from the fence line.
Secret Service agents and officers in golf carts and on ATVs generally secure the area several holes ahead and behind Trump when he golfs. Agents also usually bring an armoured vehicle onto the course to quickly shelter Trump should a threat arise.
Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser. His campaign had not advised Trump’s plans for Sunday. He often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the club, one of three he owns in the state.
He has had a stepped-up security footprint since the assassination attempt in July. When he has been at Trump Tower in New York, a lineup of dump trucks have parked in a wall outside the building. And at outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind an enclosure of bulletproof glass.
Trump was returned Sunday to his private Mar-a-Lago club, where he resides in neighbouring Palm Beach, according to a person familiar with the matter.