White House says US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris ‘relieved’ that Donald Trump is unharmed.
Former United States President Donald Trump says he is “safe and well” after what authorities said appeared to be a second assassination attempt on the Republican presidential candidate.
The FBI said it is investigating “what appears to be an attempted assassination” of Trump on Sunday after the Secret Service said it opened fire on a gunman at his golf resort in Florida.
“FEAR NOT! I am safe and well, and no one was hurt. Thank God!” Trump said in a statement on his fundraising website.
“But, there are people in this world who will do whatever it takes to stop us. I will not stop fighting for you. I will Never Surrender.”
“I will always love you for supporting me,” the statement added. “Through our UNITY we will Make America Great Again.”
FBI investigating ‘attempted assassination’
Trump had been golfing at his West Palm Beach course, not far from his Mar-a-Lago residence, during a day away from the presidential campaign.
At a news conference involving the FBI, Secret Service and local officials, authorities said a Secret Service agent who was one hole ahead of Trump on the golf course spotted a person with a firearm located near the boundary of the resort and fired in his direction.
It was unclear if the suspect fired back at the agent, officials said.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the suspect was 400 to 500 yards (365 to 457 metres) from Trump and it appeared he sought to film himself.
The suspect fled the wooded area in a black vehicle but was quickly located and detained by law enforcement agencies, according to officials.
A backpack, high-definition camera, firearm scope and an “AK-47-style rifle” were recovered from the scene, officials said.
“I would imagine the next time [Trump] comes on a golf course, there will probably be … more people around the perimeter,” Bradshaw told reporters.
“But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done. They provided exactly what the protection should have been, and their agents did a fantastic job.”
Ukraine supporter
US media named the suspect as Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, quoting law enforcement officials.
According to CNN and CBS, Routh was a self-employed affordable housing builder in Hawaii who regularly posted on politics and current events, including sometimes criticising Trump.
Public access to the suspect’s Facebook and X profiles was removed hours after the shooting, but he was reportedly active in calling for support for Ukraine in its efforts to defend against Russia’s invasion.
This year, the suspect had tagged US President Joe Biden on X, according to the Reuters news agency.
“@POTUS Your campaign should be called something like KADAF. Keep America democratic and free. Trumps should be MASA … make Americans slaves again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose,” he posted.
Routh is reported to have travelled to Ukraine in 2022 to volunteer to fight. However, he was rejected due to his age and having no military experience.
His stance has sparked reactions from Moscow and Kyiv.
The Kremlin sought to weaponise the situation by appearing to suggest that US backing for Ukraine was to blame for inspiring the suspect. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Routh’s Ukrainian links showed that “playing with fire” had consequences.
Moscow is following the situation, he added, but reiterated that Russia is not interfering in the US presidential election.
In Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “It’s good that the suspect in the assassination attempt was apprehended quickly. This is our principle: The rule of law is paramount, and political violence has no place anywhere in the world.”
‘Relieved’
The White House said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, had been briefed and would be kept updated on the investigation.
The White House added that Biden and Harris were “relieved” to know Trump is safe.
“Violence has no place in America,” Harris said in a post on X.
Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, also expressed relief that Trump had not been hurt.
“I’m glad President Trump is safe,” Vance said on X.
“I spoke to him before the news was public and he was, amazingly, in good spirits. Still much we don’t know, but I’ll be hugging my kids extra tight tonight and saying a prayer of gratitude.”
Fox News presenter Sean Hannity also said he had spoken to Trump and Steve Witkoff, a New York real estate investor who was with him on the golf course.
“When the president found out that everybody was safe and nobody had been harmed, I guess in typical ‘fight, fight, fight’ fashion, Trump said to Steve and he relayed it to me: ‘Ah, I really wanted to finish the hole. I was even, and I had a birdie putt,’” Hannity said.
Repeat
The incident comes just two months after Trump was grazed by a bullet during an attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
Trump was wounded in his ear, and one person attending the rally was killed in the attack.
The attacker, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, was killed by a Secret Service sniper.
The attack raised questions about protection for the candidates months out from the November 5 election between Trump and Harris.
Kimberly Cheatle resigned as Secret Service director under bipartisan congressional pressure after the assassination attempt.
Ronald L Rowe Jr, the agency’s new acting director, said in August that he was “ashamed” of the security lapse that had led to the attack.
Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who represents a New York district in the House of Representatives, said the incident raised further questions about the security around Trump.
“We must ask ourselves how an assassin was allowed to get this close to President Trump again?” Stefanik said in a statement.
“There continues to be a lack of answers for the horrific assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, and we expect there to be a clear explanation of what happened today in Florida.” – AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES