On Sunday, the FBI announced that it was looking into what it described as a “attempted assassination” of the former president of the United States, following shots fired by Secret Service officials at a man carrying an AK-47 weapon on or near Trump’s golf course in Palm Beach, Florida.
According to a campaign official for Trump, the outgoing president was “safe.” ABC News was informed by law enforcement sources that a suspect was already in custody.
About two months have passed since Trump was shot in the ear during a Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally.
The gunman was observed 300–500 yards from the former president, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. Agents fired four–six shots at him before the man dropped the gun and ran away. Whether the suspect was pointing his gun at Trump was unclear.
According to the source, the suspect entered a car, and after witnesses gave the number plate information, police were able to follow it. After being halted, the suspect was arrested.
Two backpacks containing a GoPro camera and ceramic tiles were discovered at the scene, according to Bradshaw, along with a “AK-47-style rifle.”
Since Trump is not the president-in-office, the sheriff said that there was no police enforcement surrounding the golf property. We would have surrounded the entire golf course if he had been.
However, protection is only in place where the Secret Service thinks it is feasible since he isn’t. Thus, I would assume that there would be a few more people surrounding the perimeter the next time he visits the golf course,” he continued.
However, following the initial attempt on Trump’s life, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham expressed reservations about the Secret Service and called for returning it to the Treasury Department, “where it had more focus,” rather than the Department of Homeland Security.
Trump told ABC News that he heard “popping sounds” close to the Trump International golf course’s fifth hole. The Republican who spoke with Trump shortly after the incident made this claim. According to the source, Trump was “in good spirits.”
After the event, a guy was taken into custody by the deputies of nearby Martin County Sheriff Will Snyder, who spoke with ABC News. Following the release of a “Be on the lookout for” advisory by the FBI, the Secret Service, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department, Snyder claimed that one of his deputies spotted the suspicious vehicle travelling north on Interstate 95 and that other officers “forced it to a stop without incident.”
The car fit the bulletin’s description, according to Snyder, but “we have to determine if this, in fact, was the right suspect.”
Trump claimed in a fundraising email shortly after the incident that he was fine and that nobody else had been harmed.
He wrote, “But there are people in this world who will stop us at any cost.”
Sunday night, Trump stated, “My resolve is only stronger after another attempt on my life,” in a follow-up fundraising email.
The White House announced in a statement on Sunday that Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden were updated on the “security incident at the Trump International Golf Course.”
The fact that he is safe brings them relief. Their staff will keep them informed on a regular basis,” the White House stated.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer issued a statement saying, “There is no place in this country for political violence of any kind,” following his briefing on the incident.
Schumer went on, “The offender must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”