Donald Trump was the target of a suspected second assassination attempt by a gunman armed with an assault-style rifle, the FBI have said.
The former president was rushed to safety while golfing after a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel sticking out of a fence at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.
The agent opened fire on the male suspect, who was equipped with an AK-47 rifle with a scope, two backpacks and a GoPro camera, said Ric Bradshaw, the Palm Beach County Sheriff.
Trump was as few as 300 yard of him at the time, Mr Bradhsaw said. “With a rifle and a scope, that’s not a long distance,” he added.
The suspect was identified last night as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh by multiple US media outlets.
Mr Bradshaw said it appeared the gunman intended to use the camera “to take pictures” of the attack.
On being engaged at around 1.30pm local time, he dropped the items and was observed by an eyewitness fleeing in a black Nissan.
A suspect, a white male in his 50s, was later detained on a motorway and identified as the same man by the eyewitness, Mr Bradshaw said.
Last night the FBI said it was “investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump”.
If confirmed, it would be the second time in just over two months that an attempt has been made on the life of the Republican 2024 candidate, after he was shot at a rally in Pennsylvania.
The incident is likely to raise major questions about the under-fire secret service tasked with protecting him.
Mr Bradshaw, the local sheriff, admitted last night that Trump’s golf course had security vulnerabilities owing to the shrubbery surrounding it.
However, he suggested the security surrounding it was not as stringent as it could have been because he is no longer in office.
“If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded,” he said. “The security is what the Secret Service deems possible”.
He added the arrangements were likely to change going forward.
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 gunman, officials said.
Secret Service agents and officers in golf carts and on ATVs generally secure the area several holes ahead and behind Trump when he golfs.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were briefed on the suspected assassination attempt, the White House said.
“They are relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team,” an official said.
The 78-year-old Republican candidate was later escorted back to his main residence, Mar-a-Lago, about five miles away on Palm Beach.
In a fundraising appeal following the incident, Trump reiterated that he was “safe and well”.
“Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!” he said.
JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, said Trump was “amazingly, in good spirits” following the incident.
“I’m glad President Trump is safe,” Mr Vance said. “Still much we don’t know, but I’ll be hugging my kids extra tight tonight and saying a prayer of gratitude.”
Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a fundraiser in Utah.
He often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at his Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach, one of three he owns in the state.
The course was immediately locked down and Trump was scrambled to safety.
No injuries were reported, according to a spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
Trump’s security had already been ramped up since an assassination attempt on the ex-president just two months ago.
Gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks fired multiple shots at Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. One bullet grazed the ex-president’s ear.
Since resuming outdoor campaign events, he has been speaking from behind bulletproof glass.
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