Gunshots were reported in Donald Trump’s vicinity Sunday afternoon. The former president is safe.
U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire after seeing a person with a firearm near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club in Florida while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing. No injuries were reported. Officials say the person fled in an SUV and was later apprehended by local law enforcement.
It was not immediately clear whether the reported shots were targeted at Trump. The U.S. Secret Service said it was investigating and that the incident occurred shortly before 2 p.m. “The former president is safe,” according to the Secret Service.
Roughly two months ago, Trump was shot during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear.
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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, said he and his wife, Gwen, are “glad” to hear Trump is safe. “Violence has no place in our country,” he said in a post on X. “It’s not who we are as a nation.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he has been briefed by the acting director of the Secret Service and applauded the agency “for their quick response to ensure former President Trump’s safety.” Schumer went on to condemn “political violence of any kind” and said the “perpetrator must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
“It’s abundantly clear there are violent people who are willing to do anything to keep President Trump from the White House,” Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said in a statement posted to X.
The man who authorities say pointed a rifle with a scope into former President Donald Trump’s golf club and was arrested is Ryan Wesley Routh, three law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.
The officials identified the suspect to the AP but spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
Secret Service agents shot at the suspect, who was taken into custody after fleeing the scene of what the FBI is calling an apparent attempted assassination of the Republican presidential nominee. Authorities are working to determine a motive.
—-By Associated Press reporters Colleen Long, Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer, Mike Balsamo and Michael R. Sisak
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the entire golf course would have been lined with law enforcement if Trump was the sitting president. But because he’s not, “security is limited to the areas that the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.”
“But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done, they provided exactly what the protection should have been and their agent did a fantastic job,” Bradshaw said.
Former presidents and their spouses have Secret Service protection for life, but the security posture around former presidents varies depending on threat levels and exposure, with the toughest typically being in the immediate aftermath of their leaving office.
Trump’s protective detail has been higher than some of his peers because of his high visibility and his campaign to seek the White House again.
Trump’s running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance, posted on X that he spoke to the former president before the news became public and said “he was, amazingly, in good spirits.”
Vance said there was still a lot “we don’t know” about the incident.
Dave Aronberg, state attorney for Palm Beach County, indicated the suspect will initially be charged at the state level but could also be charged with federal crimes.
Aronberg said his prosecutors are working up warrant and pretrial detention applications.
“Our filing of the warrant and charges at the state level does not preclude the federal charges that could be coming,” Aronberg said. “But in the meantime, it looks like the warrants and a pretrial detention motion will happen first.”
A Secret Service agent walking on the golf course a hole ahead of where Trump was playing spotted the rifle sticking out of the fence and immediately opened fire, Palm Beach County Bradshaw said.
The agent fired four to six rounds, a Secret Service official said. The suspect then fled.
A witness who took a picture of the suspect’s vehicle and license plate number provided it to law enforcement officers.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the gunman was about 400 to 500 yards away from Trump and hidden in shrubbery while the former president played golf on a nearby hole.
The man had an AK-style rifle with a scope, two backpacks hanging on a fence and a GoPro camera, the sheriff said. Bradshaw said the backpacks had ceramic tile in them and that the suspect’s belongings are being processed.
The FBI says it is investigating “what appears to be an attempted assassination” of Donald Trump.
Trump was returned safely after the incident to his private Mar-a-Lago club, where he resides in neighboring Palm Beach, according to a person familiar with the matter.
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.
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told WPTV that the suspect believed connected to the incident “was not armed when we took him out of the car.”
The man had a calm, flat demeanor and showed little emotion when he was stopped by police, Snyder said, saying the suspect did not question why he was being pulled over.
“He never asked, ‘what is this about?’ Obviously, law enforcement with long rifles, blue lights, a lot going on. He never questioned it,” Snyder said.
A man with an AK-style rifle pushed the firearm’s muzzle through the perimeter of Donald Trump’s West Palm Beach, Florida, golf course as the Republican presidential candidate was playing a round, prompting U.S. Secret Service to open fire, according to three law enforcement officials.
The person dropped the weapon and fled in an SUV, and was later apprehended in a neighboring county, the officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
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, the officials said.
An AK-style firearm was recovered at the scene near Trump’s golf course, two law enforcement officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity about an ongoing investigation.
The golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, and agents were a few holes ahead of him when they noticed a person with the firearm, the officials said. The person appeared to push the muzzle of the rifle through a fence line and that’s when agents fired, the officials said.
Law enforcement officials were expected to speak to reporters Sunday afternoon about the incident and the apprehension of the suspect.
In an email to supporters, Trump said: “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!”
“Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!” the former president said.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Sunday that it has stopped a vehicle on northbound Interstate 95 and taken a suspect into custody who is believed to be connected to the shooting.
The sheriff’s office said it made the stop after authorities in neighboring Palm Beach County put out a “be on the lookout” alert. Photos included in the post showed an SUV stopped behind multiple law enforcement vehicles.
The post by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office indicated the suspect was apprehended near Palm City, Florida, about a 45-mile drive north of Trump’s golf course. Northbound lanes of I-95 were shut down, the sheriff’s office said.
U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire after seeing a person with a firearm near Donald Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while the Republican presidential candidate was golfing Sunday, according to two law enforcement officials. No injuries were reported.
The person fled in an SUV and was later apprehended in a nearby county by local law enforcement, the officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity about an ongoing investigation.
The incident comes roughly two months after an assassination attempt on Trump’s life at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
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In an X post, South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s top congressional allies, said he had spoken with Trump after the incident and that Trump was in “good spirits” and was “one of the strongest people I’ve ever known.”
Trump often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach, one of three he owns in the state.
Donald Trump was safe after gunshots were reported in his vicinity Sunday afternoon in Florida, his campaign and the Secret Service said.
The U.S. Secret Service said it was investigating and that the incident occurred shortly before 2 p.m. “The former president is safe,” according to the Secret Service.
Roughly two months ago, Trump was shot during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear.
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.
The campaign did not immediately provide any additional details.
No injuries were reported in the shooting incident, a spokesperson for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in Florida says.
The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, had both been briefed and would be kept updated on the investigation. The White House added they are “relieved” to know Trump is safe.
A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation said officials were trying to determine whether the shots were fired near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course or on the grounds. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.