On Sunday, yet another assassination attempt on President Trump occurred at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. This marks the second attempt on his life in just two months, highlighting the growing danger surrounding the former president.
Fortunately, quick action by law enforcement agencies, including the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Secret Service, and FBI, led to the arrest of a suspect. They shared new details during a press conference.
At around 1:30 p.m., the Secret Service alerted local authorities after hearing shots fired. “We were notified of that, and we had units here that immediately sealed off the area," Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw explained. A witness was quickly located, who had seen the suspect fleeing the scene and informed law enforcement that he “saw the guy running out of the bushes” and that he “jumped into a black Nissan.” The witness had the wherewithal to take a picture of the vehicle and the tag.
Bradshaw noted that this key evidence helped police track down the suspect.
"The Secret Service agent that was on the course did a fantastic job," he said. "What they do is they have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time to where the president was at, and he was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engage that individual, at which time the individual took off. So that's what we know about the investigation. We have somebody in custody right now that is a potential suspect."
SHERIFF: The Secret Service agent was able to spot the barrel of a rifle sticking through the fence and immediately engage. pic.twitter.com/aCLNq8qnKc
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 15, 2024
With the help of license plate readers, law enforcement tracked the vehicle to I-95, where the Martin County Sheriff's Office detained the suspect. A search of the area revealed the suspect had left behind an AK-47 rifle with a scope, two backpacks, and a GoPro camera. According to Bradshaw, the rifle barrel was spotted by a Secret Service agent stationed at the course, who quickly engaged the suspect.
Related: We Now Know How the Gunman Targeted Trump at His Golf Course
During the press conference, a representative from the Secret Service shockingly had very little to say.
"Good afternoon, everyone. I first want to thank all of our law enforcement partners, sheriff's office in the Martin County Sheriff's Office today. Former President Donald Trump is safe and unharmed following a protected incident shortly before 2 pm on Sunday at Trump International Golf Club at West Palm Beach," the representative said. "The U.S. Secret Service personnel opened fire on a gunman located near the property line, and this matter is under investigation. I'll turn it over to all my partners over at the FBI."
The FBI had more to say, with the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office stating, "The FBI has assumed the role as the lead federal law enforcement agency in the investigation... We will continue to support this investigation with the full resources of the FBI."
"We've deployed a number of resources, including the investigative teams, crisis response team members, bomb technicians, and Evidence Response Team members as well," he added.
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Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg confirmed that his office is working on filing state charges against the suspect. “Our prosecutors are currently working up warrants and a motion for pretrial detention for the suspect,” he said, acknowledging that federal charges could still be forthcoming.
Sheriff Bradshaw showed photos of the backpack and the AK-47 that was recovered at the scene:
0 - 2. Some high resolution photos of the backpack. It looks bottom heavy. They really want Trump dead don't they? pic.twitter.com/giwfWikgQn
— James Burnett (@jamesburnettusa) September 15, 2024
Bradshaw emphasized that there was no longer a danger to the public. “Even though we're going to have to secure a couple of areas around the golf course here, the public doesn't need to panic,” he reassured. He also praised the coordinated response from the Secret Service, saying, “The Secret Service did exactly what they should have done… Their agent did a fantastic job.”
A reporter asked Bradshaw how far Trump was from the shooter.
"Probably between three and 500 yards, but with a rifle and a scope like that, that's not a long distance," he said.
TRUMP SHOOTING: Official confirms that Trump was "probably between 300 and 500 yards" from the gunman, adding: “With a rifle and scope like that, that’s not a long distance.” pic.twitter.com/znAa1EKCre
— TV News Now (@TVNewsNow) September 15, 2024
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