Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during a press conference at Trump National Golf Club, in Rancho Palos Verdes, U.S., September 13, 2024.
David Swanson | Reuters
Former President Donald Trump was safe on Sunday, his campaign said, after shots were fired near him at his Florida golf course.
“The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation told NBC News in a statement.
U.S. Secret Service officers fired shots at a person they believed was aiming a weapon outside the fence line of Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the Republican presidential nominee was golfing, four senior law enforcement officials told NBC News.
One person is now in custody, the officials said, and an AR-style rifle was recovered.
“The suspect’s demeanor I would describe as having a relatively calm, flat affect,” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told reporters. “He was not displaying a lot of emotions, never asked, ‘What is this about?'”
The suspect was detained on Interstate-95, a highway near Trump’s golf club that was shortly locked down after shots were fired.
Snyder said the suspect was not armed when law enforcement officials stopped his car and took him out of the vehicle, though officials did not do a search of his car. The sheriff added that he expects the Federal Bureau of Investigation will obtain a search warrant for the car.
Officials do not yet know where the person was aiming nor whether the person fired any shots.
The former president was immediately taken to a safe location as a precaution when the shots were heard, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News.
“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!” Trump’s presidential campaign wrote in a fundraising email shortly after the incident. “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”
The Secret Service said in a statement posted on X that it was “investigating a protective incident” involving Trump.
The preliminary stages of the police investigation initially found no evidence that Trump was targeted by gunfire and there have been no injuries reported so far.
This event will not change Trump’s schedule planned for next week, a source familiar told NBC News.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on the situation and will receive regular updates, the White House said in a statement.
“I have been briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida, and I am glad he is safe,” Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, wrote in an X post. “Violence has no place in America.”
Trump allies sent messages of support to the former president in response to the incident.
“Just spoke with President Trump. He is one of the strongest people I’ve ever known,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., wrote in an X post. “He’s in good spirits and he is more resolved than ever to save our country.”
Trump was injured in an attempted assassination at a Pennsylvania rally in July.
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