The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said on Sunday that it was investigating what it called an “attempted assassination” of former President Donald Trump after Secret Service agents fired at a man with an AK-47 rifle on or near Trump’s Palm Beach, Florida golf course.
A spokesperson for Trump’s campaign said the former president was “safe.” Law enforcement sources told ABC News a suspect was already in custody.
The incident comes around two months after Trump was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the gunman got as close as 300 to 500 yards away from the former president when he was spotted and agents fired four to six rounds at him before he dropped the gun and fled. It was not clear if the suspect was aiming his weapon at Trump.
The source said the suspect got into a vehicle and witnesses reported the license plate number, which was tracked by authorities. The suspect was stopped and taken into custody.
Bradshaw said along with an “AK-47-style rifle,” two backpacks were found at the scene with a GoPro camera and ceramic tiles inside.
The sheriff said the golf course was not surrounded by law enforcement because Trump is not the sitting president. “If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded.
“ But because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible. So, I would imagine that the next time he comes to the golf course, there’ll probably be a little bit more people around the perimeter,” he added.
But Republican Senator, Lindsey Graham said he already had concerns about the Secret Service after the first assassination attempt against Trump and advocated moving the agency from under the Department of Homeland Security and back under the Treasury Department, “where it had more focus.”
A Republican who spoke with Trump shortly after the incident told ABC News that Trump said he was near the 5th hole of the Trump International golf course when he heard “popping sounds” in the vicinity. The source said Trump was in “good spirits.”
Sheriff Will Snyder of neighbouring Martin County told ABC News that his units detained a man following the incident. Snyder said after the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department, the Secret Service and the FBI put out a “Be on the lookout for” alert, one of his officers saw the suspect vehicle northbound on Interstate 95 and other officers “forced it to a stop without incident.”
Snyder said the vehicle matched the description in the bulletin but “now we have to determine if this, in fact, was the right suspect.”
Shortly after the incident, Trump sent a fundraising email saying that he was safe and well and that no one was hurt.
“But, there are people in this world who will do whatever it takes to stop us,” he wrote.
In a follow-up fundraising email Sunday evening, Trump wrote, “My resolve is only stronger after another attempt on my life.”
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on the “security incident at the Trump International Golf Course,” the White House said in a statement Sunday.
“They are relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team,” the White House added.
After being briefed on the incident, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement, “There is no place in this country for political violence of any kind.”
“The perpetrator must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Schumer added.
Emmanuel Addeh
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