FBI Investigating Assassination Attempt on Trump After Florida Shooting

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) told Newsweek on Sunday that it is investigating the shooting near former President Donald Trump earlier in the afternoon as an “attempted assassination.”
Shots were fired at Trump National Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday where Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential nominee, was golfing, according to multiple reports. No injuries have been reported, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson who spoke with the Associated Press.
“President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity. No further details at this time,” Steven Cheung, his campaign communications director, told Newsweek via email on Sunday afternoon.
The FBI later said it was joining the investigation into the shooting.
“The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,” the agency told Newsweek.
Trump wrote in a statement released by his campaign on Sunday, “I AM SAFE AND WELL! Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER! I will always love you for supporting me. Unity. Peace. Make America Great Again.”
The former president had returned to Florida this weekend after hosting a string of campaign events on the West Coast.
West Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference on Sunday that a U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agent spotted the barrel of a rifle sticking out the fence of the golf course and “engaged” with the suspect. The gunman may have got to within 300 yards of Trump, law enforcement said at the conference.
According to law enforcement officials who spoke with the AP, the suspect then dropped the weapon and fled the scene in an SUV but was later apprehended in a nearby county, the officials said.
In a Facebook post on Sunday afternoon, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said that it had “stopped a vehicle and taken a suspect into custody believed to be connected to a shooting incident at Trump International in Palm Beach County.”
The shooting comes two months after Trump was struck by a bullet that pierced his right ear at an outdoor campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 in an assassination attempt. The 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, who fired rounds off a nearby roof was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper.
Then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned 10 days after the shooting following a brutal congressional hearing into the assassination attempt. The USSS is currently being run by Acting Director Ronald L. Rowe, Jr.
Rafael Barros, Special Agent in Charge of the Miami Field Office, told Newsweek in an emailed statement on Sunday evening, “I first want to thank all of our law enforcement partners, to include the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, for their involvement today.”
“Former President Donald Trump is safe and unharmed following a protective incident shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday at Trump International Golf Club at West Palm Beach. Secret Service personnel opened fire on a gunman located near the property line and this matter is under investigation,” the statement continued.
Barros said the FBI is leading the investigation.
Update 9/15/24, 5:29 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
Update 9/15/24, 6:11 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and comment from the USSS.