Former United States President Donald Trump is safe and unharmed after a “possible attempted assassination” on Sunday at West Palm Beach in Florida, the country’s Secret Service said.
The apparent assassination attempt took place shortly before 2 pm at the Trump International Golf Club, said Rafael Barros, the special agent in charge of the Miami field office.
Trump, who is the Republican Party’s presidential candidate, was playing golf when a Secret Service agent spotted a man with a rifle standing by a fence on the perimeter of the course, The New York Times reported, quoting unidentified law enforcement officials.
Subsequently, the agents opened fire and the man, identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, fled in a vehicle, the officials said. He was apprehended and taken into custody, they added, according to The New York Times.
An AK-47 rifle with a scope, along with two backpacks, were found at the site, multiple reports said.
This comes two months after Trump was injured in an assassination attempt during his campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. One spectator was killed while two others were critically injured in the shooting.
Later on Sunday, Trump said on his fundraising website that he was safe and well, and that no one was hurt in the shooting. “But there are people in this world who will do whatever it takes to stop us,” he said. “I will not stop fighting for you.”
US President Joe Biden praised the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners “for their vigilance and their efforts to keep the former President and those around him safe”. An investigation into the incident is underway, he said.
“I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety,” Biden added.
Vice President and the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Kamala Harris said that she had been briefed about the incident. “I am glad he [Trump] is safe,” she said in a post on X. “Violence has no place in America.”
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