The Republican presidential candidate and former US president Donald Trump is “safe and unharmed” after US Secret Service agents opened fire when they spotted a person with a firearm at the Trump international golf course west of Palm Beach, where the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort home is located. Law enforcement officials said the gunman was in some bushes near the property line of the golf course when Secret Service agents, who were clearing holes ahead of where Trump was playing, spotted a rifle barrel in the bushes.
Agents engaged the gunman and fired at least four rounds of ammunition about 1.30pm local time. The gunman then dropped his rifle, two backpacks and other items and fled in a black Nissan car. A witness, the sheriff said, saw the gunman and managed to take photos of his car and license plate. In a press conference, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said a male suspect had been detained by authorities. According to Bradshaw, the suspect was relatively calm.
Officials acknowledged that because Trump is not in office, the full golf course was not cordoned off. “If he was, we would have had the entire golf course surrounded,” Bradshaw said during Sunday’s briefing. “Because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.”
The gunman was spotted between 300 and 500 yards from where Trump was playing, Secret Service officials said.
The FBI called the incident “what appears to be an attempted assassination of the former president”. The FBI and other law enforcement officials said the suspect had a scope on an AK47 rifle, and a GoPro camera with which he apparently intended to record footage and two backpacks with ceramic tiles in it.
The suspect has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, a source with direct knowledge of the investigation has told the Guardian. The same name was reported by other US media outlets including the Associated Press, Fox news and CNN. Law enforcement officials have not officially named a suspect or given any immediate indication of a motive. Secret service and homeland security agents searched a former home 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!”. He added, “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”. Trump was injured in an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on 13 July.
In a late night post on his Truth Social account, Donald Trump has thanked the secret service and other law enforcement for their “incredible job” of keeping him safe. After stating that it had been an “interesting day”, Trump went on to further commend law enforcement officials: “THE JOB DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”
The White House said in a statement that President Joe Biden and vice-president Kamala Harris had been briefed about the incident and were relieved to know that Trump is safe. “Violence has no place in America,” Harris said in a social media post. Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz issued a statement, posting on X: “Gwen and I are glad to hear that Donald Trump is safe. Violence has no place in our country. It’s not who we are as a nation.”
Later, Biden and Harris released separate statements. Biden said, “I am relieved that the former President is unharmed.” Biden also said he has, “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.” Harris reiterated Biden’s call for protective measures and said she was “deeply disturbed” by the apparent assassination attempt.
Trump’s running mate in the presidential election, US senator JD Vance, said he spoke to Trump after the shooting and that the former president was in good spirits. The South Carolina Republican senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s top congressional allies, said he had spoken with the former president after the incident and that Trump was in “good spirits” and was “one of the strongest people I’ve ever known”.
Trump will be briefed in person on the investigation by acting secret service director Ronald Rowe, the Associated Press reports. Earlier, CNN reported that Rowe was on his way to Florida. Rowe has held the Service’s most senior position since Kimberly Cheatle resigned in July after the assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has said on X that, “the State of Florida will be conducting its own investigation regarding the attempted assassination at Trump International Golf Club.” He added, “The people deserve the truth about the would be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the former president and current GOP nominee”.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has released a statement on the apparent assassination attempt, saying, “Political violence has no place in a civilised society. I am thankful that former President Trump is safe and that the alleged perpetrator is in custody. He should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
