One person is in custody after shots were fired Sunday in what the FBI is calling an apparent second “attempted assassination” of former President Donald Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.
An AR-style rifle was recovered from the scene, law enforcement officials told NBC News.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement that the Republican presidential nominee was “safe” following the incident.
At a news conference in West Palm Beach, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters that Secret Service agents spotted the suspect, who they said had a rifle with a scope in the bushes outside of the golf course. Two backpacks and a GoPro camera were found against the fence by the AK-47 rifle, Bradshaw said.
A representative for the Secret Service at the press conference said it wasn’t clear whether the suspect “was able to take a shot at our agents” before the agents shot at the suspect.
The person in custody who had a semi-automatic rifle and was shot at by Secret Service was identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, according to three senior law enforcement officials.
The Secret Service spokesperson and Bradshaw said the suspect, who they did not name, was an estimated 400 to 500 yards away from Trump.
Trump left the golf course in his motorcade a couple of hours after the incident, which occurred shortly before 2 p.m., and headed back to his Mar-a-Lago resort, a source familiar with the matter said. He has since arrived at Mar-a-Lago, a separate source said.
A senior law enforcement official briefed on the incident told NBC News that Trump was on the golf course when what sounded like gunfire was heard in the near distance.
He was between the fifth and sixth hole on the golf course when the incident occurred, the source familiar with the matter said.
Acting Director of the Secret Service Ronald Rowe is traveling to Florida in the wake of the incident, according to two Secret Service officials. The previous Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle, stepped down from her post after the previous assassination attempt on the former president.
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, said in a post to X that the former president was “in good spirits” after the incident.
“Still much we don’t know, but for I’ll be hugging my kids extra tight tonight and saying a prayer of gratitude,” Vance said in the post.
Sunday’s incident will not affect Trump’s campaign schedule this week, a source said.
About two months have passed since bullets whizzed by Trump’s head, one striking him in the ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 when one supporter was killed and two were critically wounded. The gunman was shot dead by Secret Service. During the chaos, Trump was surrounded by Secret Service agents, who escorted him offstage as he pumped his fist and mouthed “fight,” which has since become a rallying cry among his supporters.
The White House said in a statement Sunday, “The President and Vice President have been briefed about the security incident at the Trump International Golf Course, where former President Trump was golfing. They are relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team.”
In a separate post on X, Vice President Kamala Harris said she had been briefed on the incident and added, “I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.” Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, echoed a similar sentiment in a post to X.
The incident in Florida comes 51 days before Election Day, with polling indicating a tight race between Trump and Harris.
