WASHINGTON (AP) — A man with an AK-style rifle pushed the firearm’s muzzle through the perimeter of Donald Trump’s West Palm Beach, Florida golf course Sunday as the Republican presidential candidate was playing a round, prompting US Secret Service to open fire, according to three law enforcement officials. The former president is safe and unharmed.
The person dropped the weapon and fled in an SUV, and was later apprehended in a neighboring county, the officials said. The officials were not authorised to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
An AK-style firearm was recovered at the scene near Trump’s golf course, two of the officials said. And no injuries were reported.
The incident was the latest jarring moment in a campaign year marked by unprecedented upheaval. It occurred roughly two months after Trump was shot during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear. Only a week later, President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
The golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, and agents were a few holes ahead of him when they noticed the person with the firearm, the officials said. There are several areas around the perimeter of the property where golfers are visible from the fence line. Secret Service agents and officers in golf carts and on ATVs generally secure the area several holes ahead and behind Trump when he golfs.
Agents also usually bring an armored vehicle onto the course to quickly shelter Trump should a threat arise.
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. Trump often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach, one of three he owns in the state.
He has had a stepped-up security footprint since the assassination attempt in July. When he has been at Trump Tower in New York, a lineup of dump trucks have parked in a wall outside the building. And at outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind an enclosure of bulletproof glass.
The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, had both been briefed and would be kept updated on the investigation. The White House added they were “relieved” to know Trump is safe.
Harris, in a statement said she was “glad” Trump was safe, adding that “violence has no place in America.”
In an X post, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C, one of Trump’s top congressional allies, said he had spoken with Trump after the incident and that Trump was in “good spirits” and was “one of the strongest people I’ve ever known.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on Sunday that it has stopped the vehicle on northbound Interstate 95 and taken a suspect into custody who is believed to be connected to the shooting.
The sheriff’s office said it made the stop after authorities in neighboring Palm Beach County put out a “be on the lookout” alert.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has been briefed on the situation and is receiving regular updates about it, a Justice Department spokeswoman said.
The post by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office indicated the suspect was apprehended near Palm City, Florida, about a 45-mile drive north of Trump’s golf course. Northbound lanes of I-95 were shut down, the sheriff’s office said.
A message sent to campaign officials seeking information on the security status and location of Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, was not immediately returned.
Max Egusquiza, of Palm Beach, described the emergency response outside Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course.
“From what I saw 5 black unmarked SUVs blocked in a grey Mercedes in front of the golf course. There were about 20 or more cop cars flying from nearby streets,” he said.
Trump is supposed to speak about cryptocurrency live Monday night on the social media site X for the launch of his sons’ crypto platform. He’s expected to do that from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The former president is scheduled to return to the campaign trail on Tuesday for 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’s scheduled to attend and address the Israeli-American Council National Summit in Washington, D.C. and on Saturday hold a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina.
