LTP News Sharing:
AP Photo/Stephanie Matat
Update 5:56 p.m.: Multiple media outlets have identified the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh.
Update 4:51 p.m.: The FBI now says it is investigating “what appears to be an attempted assassination of Trump.”
Update 4:22 p.m.: Martin County, Fla., Sheriff William D. Snyder told reporters that his department surrounded and intercepted the car with the suspect, whom he described as “relatively calm, flat affect… never asked what this is about.” Snyder said he knows the suspect’s name but declined to share that information. He is reported to be in his late 50s.
Police immediately turned him over to the FBI, and bomb-sniffing dogs cleared the vehicle. Snyder said that all roads in the vicinity are closed by order of Gov. Ron DeSantis. Trump was escorted back to his Mar-a-Lago home.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) just posted on X, “Just spoke with President Trump. He is one of the strongest people I’ve ever known. He’s in good spirits and he is more resolved than ever to save our country.”
Original story:
Gunshots were reported shortly before 2 p.m. near former President Donald Trump’s International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., while the former president was playing golf. According to multiple reports, the Secret Service took Trump to safety “after agents opened fire on a man who was spotted with what may have been a gun while the former president was on the links, according to law enforcement sources.”
CNN reports that “police believe an armed individual intended to target Trump.”
An individual has been detained, and a Russian-made AK-47 was reportedly recovered at the scene. In addition, a black vehicle has been impounded.
The shots came from “a few hundred feet from where Trump was playing,” according to Fox News. “It was the Secret Service that fired the gunshots” after they saw a man carrying a long gun,” Fox reported. He reportedly dropped the gun and ran and was apprehended by Secret Service.
It’s unclear at that time whether Trump has been evacuated from the golf course.
Sources said the Secret Service spotted a suspicious individual on the Trump International Golf Course West Palm Beach, and opened fire when agents saw what appeared to be the barrel of a gun.
It’s not clear whether the man was on the course or near it.
An agent opened fire, shooting multiple times.
According to the report, the man was later arrested by local police.
Though details are limited, according to Fox News, Trump’s presence on the golf course was not part of his public schedule.
Initial reports suggested two people were firing at each other. However, sources said investigators now believe the Secret Service agent was the only shooter.
The man’s motives are not yet known. He was arrested by Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies.
The White House issued a statement soon after the incident: “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.”
“President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity. No further details at this time,” Steven Cheung, director of communications for the Trump campaign, said in a statement received by PJ Media.
There are reports that officials believe Trump was the intended target, though PJ Media has not been able to verify this claim independently.
