West Palm Beach – A Secret Service agent opened fire on a man as Trump played golf at Trump International Golf Course West Palm Beach. Secret Service immediately surrounded President Trump and evacuated him from the scene.
The suspect was waiting a few holes ahead of the former president when Secret Service Agents observed the man laying in the bushes with a clear line of sight to the golf course.
Officials say the man had placed the muzzle of the rifle in a chain link fence approximately 300-400 yards away from the former president.
The suspect left a “AK-47” style rifle, scope, go pro camera, and ammunition at the scene and fled in a black SUV.
The man, who is in his 50s, was taken into custody by the West Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office after a traffic stop on I-95.
Trump issued a defiant statement after the apparent attempt on his life. “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 in a campaign alert letting supporters know he was unharmed.
The former president was on the links at Trump International Golf Course West Palm Beach at the time, about 2 p.m. on Sunday. The gunman was spotted by an advance team several holes ahead of Trump, the sources told The New York Post.
Trump issued an “alert” statement to let supporters know he was safe shortly after an alarming security incident where a man was taken into custody with a high-powered rifle at one of the former president’s golf resorts.
“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 Sunday.
An agent opened fire, shooting multiple times.
The man was later arrested by local police on I-95 by the Martin County Sheriff’s Department.
A witness took a photo of the license plate and reported it to law enforcement. License Plate Cameras identified the vehicle on the interstate, where law enforcement made a traffic stop and took the suspect into custody.
The West Palm Beach course is about five miles inland from Mar-a-Lago, which Trump dubbed the “Winter White House.”
