Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Ahead of the high-profile presidential election on November 5, now barely 50 days away, and nearly nine weeks after the first attempt on his life, Republican nominee Donald Trump survived another assassination attempt at a Florida golf club on Sunday, the media reported.
Trump was the target on Sunday of “what appears to be an attempted assassination” at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, the FBI said.
Although some shorts were heard, it is unclear whether or not the gunman fired at either the former president or the security agents. Trump said he was safe and well. Officials held a man, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, of Hawaii, in custody.
US Secret Service agents posted 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.
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 taken into custody in a neighboring county.
On July 13, Trump was shot at during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear. Eight days later, amid Trump’s soaring popularity, Democratic President Joe Biden, 82, withdrew from the race, allowing Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, to become the party’s nominee.
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 wrote: “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”
After the incident, the reports said, he returned to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach where he lives.
It was not immediately clear whether the incident would affect Trump’s campaign schedule in the coming weeks. “As we enter the last 50 days of former President Trump’s campaign, we must remember that we will only be able to save America from those who seek to destroy it by working together as one team,” his campaigners said.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed and would be kept updated on the investigation, the White House said, adding they were “relieved” to know Trump is safe.
Harris also said, in a statement, “Violence has no place in America.”
Trump has had a stepped-up security footprint since the assassination attempt in July. When he was at Trump Tower in New York, parked dump trucks formed a wall outside the building. At outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind an enclosure of bulletproof glass.
The Florida golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, but 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 plays. Agents also usually bring an armored vehicle onto the course to shelter Trump quickly should a threat arise.
Former presidents and their spouses have Secret Service protection for life, but the security around former presidents varies according to threat levels and exposure, with the toughest typically being in the immediate aftermath of their leaving office.
Trump’s protective detail has been higher than some other former presidents because of his high visibility and his campaign to seek the White House again.
News reporters were not with Trump on Sunday. Bucking tradition, Trump’s campaign has not arranged to have a protective pool of reporters traveling with him, as is standard for major party nominees and the president. Harris does not have a protective pool at all times but does allow reporters to travel with her for public events.
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 putting out a “very urgent BOLO” — or “be on the lookout” alert detailing the specific vehicle sought, license plate number and description of the occupant.
The man had a calm, flat demeanor and showed little emotion when he was stopped by police. He did not question why he was being pulled over.
A witness reported seeing the suspect emerging from some bushes and jumping into a black Nissan car after the agents had fired at him several times.
The Secret Service confirmed in a post on X that they were investigating a “protective incident” involving Trump that took place on Sunday.
He added: “What they do is they have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time to where the president was at and he was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engage that individual, at which time the individual took off.”
There is now a heavy security presence on the roads and in the waters around the former president’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida, as well as his nearby golf course at West Palm Beach.
According to a BBC report, Routh called for foreign fighters to go to Ukraine to battle against Russian forces. He was charged and convicted of numerous offenses in Guilford County, North Carolina, between 2002 and 2010.
Trump was injured while addressing a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 when a gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, fired at him with an AR–15–style rifle from the roof of a nearby building. The shooting left one audience member dead, while Crooks, 20, was killed at the scene by a Secret Service sniper.