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Trump safe after shots fired in Florida neighborhood, campaign says
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Trump safe after shots fired in Florida neighborhood, campaign says

Donald Trump is safe after the Secret Service opened fire on a suspect with a firearm near his golf club. Live updates here.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man carrying an AK-style rifle pointed the barrel of the gun at Donald Trump’s West Palm Beach, Florida, golf club as the former president was playing a round, prompting U.S. Secret Service officials to open fire, three law enforcement officials said. The former president is safe and unharmed, and the FBI says it is investigating “what appears to be an attempted assassination” of the Republican presidential nominee.

The person dropped the weapon and fled in an SUV, and was later taken into custody in a neighboring county, officials said. The officials were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

An AK-style firearm was found at the crime scene near Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach, two of the officials said. And no injuries were reported.

The incident was the latest shocking moment in a campaign year marked by unprecedented upheaval. It came about two months after Trump was shot during a attempted murder at a meeting in Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his earJust a week later, President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.

The golf course was partially closed off for Trump while he played, and agents were a few holes ahead of him when they spotted the person with the gun, the officials said. There are several areas around the perimeter of the course where golfers are visible from the fence. Secret Service agents and agents in golf carts and on ATVs typically secure the area a few holes in front of and behind Trump when he plays. Agents also typically bring an armored vehicle onto the course to quickly protect Trump if a threat arises.

Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast trip that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a fundraiser in Utah. His campaign had not advised Trump’s plans for Sunday. He often spends the morning golfing before having lunch at the club, one of three he owns in the state.

The former president has had a heightened security footprint since the July assassination attempt. When he was at Trump Tower in New York, a line of dump trucks were parked in a wall outside the building. And at outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind a perimeter of bulletproof glass.

Trump was safely returned to his private club Mar-a-Lago, where he lives in nearby Palm Beach, after the incident, a source familiar with the matter said.

The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, had both been briefed and would be kept updated on the investigation. The White House added that they were “relieved” to know Trump is safe.

Harris said in a statement that she was “glad” that Trump was safe, adding that “violence has no place in America.”

In an X message, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of Trump’s top allies in Congress, said he had spoken with Trump after the incident and that Trump was in “great spirits” and “one of the strongest people I’ve ever known.”

Martin County Sheriff William D. Snyder said the suspect was arrested within minutes after the FBI, the Secret Service and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office issued a “very urgent BOLO” — or “be on the lookout” — alert detailing the specific vehicle being sought, its license plate number and a description of its occupant.

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Snyder said his officers “immediately flooded” northbound I-95, taking every exit between the Palm Beach County border to the south and the St. Lucie County border to the north.

“One of my traffic police units saw the vehicle, found the license plate, and we approached the vehicle,” Snyder said. “We seized the car, brought it to a safe stop, and arrested the driver.”

Snyder told WPTV the suspect “was not armed when we pulled him out of the car.”

The man had a calm, level demeanor and showed little emotion when he was taken into custody by police, Snyder said. He said the suspect did not question why he was being pulled over.

“He never asked, ‘What is this about?’ Obviously, police with long guns, blue lights, a lot going on. He never asked any questions about it,” Snyder said.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has been briefed on the situation and is receiving regular updates, a Justice Department spokeswoman said.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect was arrested near Palm City, Florida, about 45 miles north of Trump’s golf course. Northbound lanes of I-95 were closed, the sheriff’s office said.

A message sent to campaign staff requesting information about the security status and whereabouts of Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Trump’s running mate, was not immediately returned.

Max Egusquiza of Palm Beach described the emergency response outside Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach.

“From what I saw there were 5 black unmarked SUVs blocked in by a gray Mercedes in front of the golf course. There were about 20 or more police cars flying through the streets nearby,” he said.

Trump was scheduled to speak about cryptocurrency live on social media site X on Monday night ahead of the launch of his sons’ crypto platform, a move expected from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The former president is expected to return to the campaign trail on Tuesday for a town hall in Flint, Michigan, with his former press secretary, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, followed by a campaign rally in New York City on Long Island on Wednesday.

At the end of the week, he will attend the Israeli-American Council national summit in Washington, DC, where he will give a speech. On Saturday, he will hold a rally in Wilmington, North Carolina.

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Associated Press reporters Jill Colvin and Michael R. Sisak in New York, Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.