Trump targeted in apparent assassination attempt, this time at his Florida golf club

The former President says he was safe and well, and authorities held a man in custody

West Palm Beach: Donald Trump was the target of what the FBI said “appears to be an attempted assassination” at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee survived another attempt on his life. The former President said he was safe and well, and authorities held a man in custody.

US Secret Service agents stationed a few holes up from where Trump was playing noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through the shrubbery that lines the course, roughly 400 yards away.

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An agent fired and the gunman dropped the rifle and fled in an SUV, leaving the firearm behind along with two backpacks, a scope used for aiming and a GoPro camera, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said. The man was later stopped by law enforcement in a neighbouring county.

He had a calm, flat demeanour and showed little emotion when he was stopped and didn’t question why he was pulled over, according Martin County Sheriff William Snyder. “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.

It was the latest jarring moment in a campaign year marked by unprecedented upheaval. On July 13, Trump was shot during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear. Eight days later, Democratic President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, giving way for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the party’s nominee.

And it spawned new questions about Secret Service protective operations after the agency’s admitted failures in preventing the attempted assassination of Trump this summer.

In an email to supporters, Trump said: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumours start spiralling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” He wrote: “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!” He returned to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach where he lives, according to a person familiar with Trump’s movements who was not authorised to discuss them publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately clear whether the development would affect his campaign schedule. Trump was set to speak from Florida about cryptocurrency live on Monday night on the social media site X. He planned a town hall Tuesday in Flint, Michigan, followed by a rally Wednesday on New York’s Long Island.

In the aftermath, Trump checked in with allies, including running mate Ohio Sen. JD Vance, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and several Fox News hosts. Fox News host Sean Hannity recounted on air his conversation with Trump and the former President’s golf partner, Steve Witkoff.

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 announced any public plans for Trump on Sunday. He often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the club, one of three he owns in the state.

Trump has had a stepped-up security footprint since the assassination attempt in July. When he has been at Trump Tower in New York, parked dump trucks have formed a wall outside the building. At outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind an enclosure of bulletproof glass.

The man in custody was Ryan Routh, three law enforcement officials said. The officials who identified the suspect spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Routh tried to recruit Afghan soldiers fleeing the Taliban to fight in Ukraine, and spent several months in the country, according to an interview with The New York Times last year. He told the newspaper that dozens of potential Afghan recruits have expressed an interest in fighting, and that he hoped to purchase passports for them in Pakistan.

The FBI was leading the investigation and working to determine any motive. Attorney General Merrick Garland was receiving regular updates. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were helping investigate.