FBI: Trump was the subject of an assassination attempt at his Florida golf course

The man who authorities say pointed a rifle with a scope at former President Donald Trump’s golf club and was arrested is Ryan Wesley Routh, three law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.

The officials identified the suspect to the AP but asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak about the ongoing investigation.

Secret Service personnel shot the suspect, who was taken into custody after fleeing the scene, which the FBI called an attempt to kill the president-elect of the Republic. Authorities are working to determine a motive.

This is a breaking news update. An earlier AP story follows below.

The FBI said Donald Trump was the target of an “apparent assassination attempt” at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee survived another assassination attempt. The former president said he is safe and well.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said US Secret Service agents shot a man pointing an AK-type rifle while Trump was on the road. Bradshaw said the gunman also had two backpacks hanging from a fence and a GoPro camera and that he was 400 to 500 yards away from Trump and hiding in a tree while the president played golf on a nearby hole. This person dropped the weapon and fled in an SUV, and was detained in a neighboring area.

The incident was the latest high-profile incident in a year of unprecedented turmoil. It happened almost two months after Trump was shot during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, and the bullet grazed his ear. After only a week, President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.

In an email to supporters, Trump said: “There have been shots fired in my neighborhood, but before the rumors get out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I’M SAFE AND WELL!”

“Nothing will slow me down. I WILL NOT GIVE UP!” he wrote.

The golf course was partially closed to Trump while he was playing, and agents were several holes ahead of him when they saw someone with a gun, Bradshaw said. There are several places around the perimeter of the area where golfers can be seen from the fence line. Secret Service agents and officials in golf carts and ATVs often secure the area several holes in front and behind Trump when he plays golf. Agents also routinely bring an armored vehicle to the facility to protect Trump immediately in the event of a threat.

Trump 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 did not comment on Trump’s plans on Sunday. He usually spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the club, one of three he owns in the state.

He has been under increased security since the time of his impeachment attempt in July. When he was at Trump Tower in New York, a line of dump trucks parked along a wall outside the building. And at outdoor gatherings, he now speaks behind bulletproof glass.

Trump returned Sunday to his private Mar-a-Lago club, where he lives in neighboring Palm Beach, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, have both been notified and will be notified of the investigation. The White House added that they were “relieved” to know Trump was safe.

Harris, in a statement, said he was “happy” Trump was safe, adding that “violence has no place in America.”

In an X post, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of Trump’s top supporters in congress, said she spoke with Trump after the incident and that Trump was “in good spirits” and “one of the strongest people I’ve ever seen.” known.”

Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder said the suspect was apprehended within minutes of the FBI, Secret Service, and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office issuing an “emergency BOLO—or “be on the lookout”—alert detailing a specific wanted vehicle, license plate number, and residential description. .

Snyder said his deputies “quickly flooded” northbound I-95, sending all exits between the Palm Beach County line south and the St. Lucie County in the north.

“One of my patrol units saw the car, it matched the tag, and we stopped the car,” said Snyder. “We entered the car, stopped it properly, and put the driver in custody.”

Snyder told WPTV that the suspect “was not armed when we pulled him out of the car.”

The suspect was in a low mood, showing discomfort when he was stopped by the police, Snyder said, adding that the suspect did not ask why he was being pulled aside.

“He didn’t ask, ‘What is this about?’ Obviously, law enforcement with long guns, blue lights, a lot going on. He never asked,” Snyder said.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has been briefed on the situation and is receiving regular updates on it, a Justice Department spokeswoman said.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect was caught near Palm City, Florida, about 45 miles north of Trump’s golf course. Northbound lanes of I-95 were closed, the sheriff’s office said.

A message sent to campaign officials seeking information on the security situation and location of Ohio Senator JD Vance, a Trump campaigner, was not immediately returned.

Max Egusquiza, of Palm Beach, described the emergency response outside Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach.

“What I saw was 5 unmarked black SUVs blocking a gray Mercedes in front of the golf course. There were about 20 or more police cars flying around the streets,” he said.

Trump is due to talk about cryptocurrency live on Monday night on social media site X at the launch of his sons’ crypto platform. He is expected to do so at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The former president is scheduled to return to the campaign trail on Tuesday at a town hall in Flint, Michigan, with his former press secretary, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, followed by a campaign rally in New York on Long Island on Wednesday.

At the end of the week, he is scheduled to attend and speak at the Israeli-American Council’s National Conference in Washington, DC, and on Saturday hold a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina.

–By Alanna Durkin Richer, Colleen Long, Michael Balsamo, and Zeke Miller, Associated Press

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Michael R. Sisak in New York; Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina; and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.