Donald Trump targeted in second assassination attempt while playing golf

Donald Trump has been the target of a second suspected assassination attempt by a gunman armed with an assault rifle, the FBI said.

The former president was rushed to safety while playing golf after a Secret Service agent spotted a gun barrel protruding from a fence at his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday.

The officer opened fire on the suspect, who was carrying an AK-47 rifle with a scope, two backpacks and a GoPro camera, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.

Trump was only 300 yards away from him at the time, Bradhsaw said. “With a rifle and a scope, that’s not a long distance,” he added.

The suspect was identified last night as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, by several American media outlets.

Mr Bradshaw said it appeared the gunman intended to use the camera “to take pictures” of the attack.

While engaged at around 1:30 p.m. local time, he dropped the items and was observed by an eyewitness fleeing in a black Nissan.

A suspect, a white man in his 50s, was later stopped on a highway and identified as the same man by the eyewitness, Bradshaw said.

Last night, the FBI said it was “investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”

If confirmed, it would be the second time in just over two months that an assassination attempt has been made against the 2024 Republican presidential candidate, after he was shot dead at a rally in Pennsylvania.

The incident is likely to raise major questions about the under-fire secret service charged with protecting him.

Mr Bradshaw, the local sheriff, admitted last night that Trump's golf course had security vulnerabilities because of the shrubbery surrounding it.

He suggested, however, that security surrounding the event was not as tight as it could have been because it is no longer in operation.

“If that were the case, the entire golf course would have been surrounded,” he said. “The security is whatever the Secret Service deems possible.”

He added that the arrangements were subject to change in the future.

The golf course was partially closed for Trump as he played, and officers were a few holes ahead of him when they noticed the shooter, officials said.

Secret Service agents and officers in golf carts and ATVs typically secure the area several holes in front of and behind Trump when he plays golf.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been briefed on the alleged assassination attempt, the White House said.

“They are relieved to know that he is safe and sound. They will be regularly informed by their team,” an official said.

The 78-year-old Republican candidate was then driven back to his primary residence, Mar-a-Lago, about five miles away on Palm Beach.

In an appeal for donations following the incident, Trump reiterated that he was “safe and sound.”

“Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER surrender!” he declared.

Trump's running mate JD Vance said Trump was in “surprisingly good spirits” after the incident.

“I’m glad President Trump is safe,” Vance said. “We don’t know much yet, but I’ll be hugging my kids tight tonight and saying a prayer of gratitude.”

Trump returned to Florida over the weekend after a West Coast tour that included a rally Friday night in Las Vegas and a fundraiser in Utah.

He often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, one of three he owns in the state.

The route was immediately sealed off and Trump was taken to safety.

No injuries were reported, according to a spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in Florida.

Trump's security had already been stepped up since an assassination attempt on the former president just two months ago.

Shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks shot Trump multiple times at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. One bullet grazed the former president's ear.

Since the resumption of outdoor campaign events, he has been speaking behind bulletproof glass.

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