A gunman who fired shots within the precincts of a golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, belonging to Donald Trump, on Sunday, has been arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), without any harm coming to the former President of the United States or anybody in the facility.
Regardless, the secret police has confirmed the incident to be another assassination attempt on the life of the ex-POTUS, coming just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee survived an attempt on his life, in July, while addressing a crowd during a rally in Pennsylvania.
Reports say Trump was on the fifth hole at Trump International West Palm Beach, during a golf game, when the secret police, spotted a gunman with an AK-47, hiding in the treeline and opened fire, forcing him to flee, though he was immediately apprehended in a vehicle on Interstate 95, while Trump’s campaign, confirmed that the former president was unharmed.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, was quoted as say the U.S. Secret Service agents fired at a man pointing an AK-style rifle with a scope as Trump was on the course, adding that the gunman also had two backpacks hanging on a fence and a GoPro camera, and that he was about 400 yards to 500 yards away from Trump and hiding in shrubbery while the former president played golf on a nearby hole.
The attacker was said to have dropped the weapon and fled in an SUV, and was later taken into custody in a neighboring county, making the second attempt in two months, though unlike the incident in Pennsylvania, where a bullet fired by a sniper hiding on rooftop, only managed to graze his ears, the former POTUS was not hit this time around.
Commenting on the incident, Trump updated his supporters in an email message on the situation, saying: “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!. Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”
Trump, who returned to Florida at the weekend after a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a fundraising in Utah, is said to have returned Sunday to his private Mar-a-Lago club, where he resides in neighboring Palm Beach, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Though President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, are yet to issue a formal statement on the incident, they were said to be in the know about the development, having been promptly briefed, while the White House, was quoted as saying were “relieved” to know Trump is safe, though another report quoted Harris, as saying she was “glad” Trump was safe, adding that “violence has no place in America.”