At around 2pm on Sunday, local time, shots were fired at Donald Trump’s golf club in Florida, less than a mile from the former president’s Mar-a-Lago home.
Trump was on the golf course when Secret Service agents discovered a rifle barrel protruding through a fence. Trump was then up to 450 meters away, according to the police.
The ex-president was quickly taken to safety and is unharmed.
Flee by car
The Secret Service fired shots at the person holding the weapon, but he managed to escape unharmed in a car. Shortly afterwards, the suspect was stopped by police and was able to be arrested after a witness took the registration number of the vehicle.
The FBI is investigating the incident as a suspected assassination attempt on Donald Trump. According to the police, the suspect must have behaved “relatively calmly” and was not armed at the time of the arrest.
The detainee is a 58-year-old man who has been in trouble with justice a number of times over the past 30 years. In social media, he has taken a stand on political issues and has written, among other things, that Trump’s campaign should be called MASA, “make Americans slaves again”.
An automatic weapon with a scope and a Gopro camera have been found at the crime scene. According to the police, the camera is believed to have been intended to be used to film the crime.
Trump’s comment: “Feel well”
A few hours after the crime, Donald Trump commented on the incident in an email to CNN and wrote, among other things, that he is safe and well.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement from the White House that they condemn political violence and are relieved that Trump is unharmed.
The killing takes place just over two months after the attack on Trump’s campaign meeting in Pennsylvania on July 13, where one person was killed and the former president was hit in the ear. The Secret Service then received massive criticism for its handling of the situation.