West Palm Beach, Florida
CNN
—
The FBI is investigating an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump at his Florida golf club on Sunday, the second attempt on the former president in two months.
The Trump campaign said Trump was unharmed and not injured in the incident. Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw said at a press conference on Sunday that the Secret Service notified the sheriff’s office at 1:30 p.m. ET that someone had fired shots at a man holding a rifle in the bushes surrounding the Trump International Golf Club.
A source familiar with the situation told CNN that Trump was playing golf at the time and was traveling between the fifth and sixth holes.
Bradshaw said a Secret Service agent spotted the barrel of a scoped rifle protruding from a fence at the golf course and “immediately engaged” the individual. Bradshaw said the agent who found the rifle was part of a team that was a hole or two ahead of Trump on the course. Officials said the individual was between 300 and 500 yards from Trump.
The suspect fled the scene in a vehicle and was spotted by witnesses who helped law enforcement locate the vehicle traveling north on Interstate 95 in Martin County, north of Palm Beach.
“We were lucky to catch a witness who came and said, ‘I saw a guy run out of the bushes. He jumped in a black Nissan. I took a picture of the car and the number plate,'” Bradshaw said.
Three law enforcement sources said one man being detained in connection with the assassination attempt is Ryan Wesley Routh.
Authorities notified the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, who took the man into custody and witnesses were later able to identify him.
Authorities said an AK-47-style rifle with a scope was recovered at the scene, along with two backpacks hanging from a fence with ceramic tiles inside, and a GoPro camera.
The hole Trump was playing when the incident occurred was on the eastern end of the golf course.
Sheriff: Scoped AK-47 recovered from bushes near Trump golf course
02:10
– Source: WPEC
The apparent assassination attempt at Trump’s golf course in Florida comes two months after an assassination attempt on the former president at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, sparked an investigation into the US Secret Service.
“Former President Donald Trump is safe and uninjured following an alleged assassination attempt that occurred just before 2 p.m. Sunday at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. U.S. Secret Service agents opened fire on a gunman located near the property line,” Rafael Barros, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Miami field office, said in a statement.
A law enforcement source familiar with the matter told CNN that Interim Director of the US Secret Service Ronald Rowe is traveling to Florida in response to the incident.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that the state would conduct its own investigation into the assassination attempt, and a select congressional committee investigating the first assassination attempt on a former president has asked the Secret Service for a report following Sunday’s incident.
In a statement early that morning, the Trump campaign said the former president was “safe despite a shooting nearby.”
Trump, who was golfing with donor Steve Witkoff, quickly assured supporters that he, too, was safe, according to a source familiar with the matter. “I heard gunfire near me, but before the rumors get out of control, I want you to hear this first: I am safe and well!” Trump wrote in a fundraising email that afternoon.
The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been briefed on the security incident involving Trump and that both were “comfortable knowing President Trump is safe.”
“As I have said many times, there is no room for political violence, or any kind of violence, in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that the Secret Service has all the resources, capabilities and safeguards necessary to ensure the continued safety of the former president,” Biden said in a statement Sunday night.
“We received reports of gunfire near former President Trump and his property in Florida and are glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America,” Harris wrote on the social media platform X.
Biden and Harris are both in Washington, D.C., and have no public events scheduled for Sunday, but their teams are expected to provide updates. Attorney General Merrick Garland has also been briefed, according to Justice Department spokeswoman Dena Iverson.
Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Trump’s running mate, wrote to X late Sunday that Trump was in “good spirits.”
“I’m glad President Trump is safe. I spoke to him before the news was released and he was in surprisingly good spirits,” Vance said.
“He is one of the strongest people I know,” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham wrote. “He is in high spirits and more determined than ever to save our country,” the Trump ally wrote.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect Rick Bradshaw becoming Palm Beach County sheriff and additional developments.
CNN’s Michelle Shen, Jack Forrest, Holmes Lybrand and Sam Fossum contributed to this report.
