A shooting near former US president Donald Trump on Sunday is being investigated as “what appears to be an attempted assassination,” the FBI has said.
Trump’s campaign team said the Republican presidential candidate was safe after shots were fired “in his vicinity” in Florida.
A spokesman for the US Secret Service also confirmed that Trump was safe after shots were fired at Trump’s golf course.
The US Secret Service had seen a gun barrel sticking out of a boundary fence, Palm Beach County sheriff Ric Bradshaw told a press conference.
The suspect was about 270 to 450 metres away from Trump, who was playing golf at the time, he said.
The Secret Service had shot at the suspect, spokesman Rafael Barros said. Bradshaw said it was unclear whether the man had also fired a shot. No injuries were reported.
A suspect fled the scene but had been detained by local police, who had found an AK-47 assault rifle with a telescopic sight and camera in the bushes at the scene, Bradshaw said.
In a fundraising email sent shortly after the incident, Trump said there were gunshots in his vicinity.
“But before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I am safe and well!” he wrote.
“Nothing will slow me down. I will never surrender! I will always love you for supporting me.”
“No further details at this time,” his spokesman Steven Cheung said in a brief statement issued by the Trump campaign, as did Secret Service Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi in a post on X.
The White House has been informed
In Washington, the White House said that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been informed.
“The President and Vice President have been briefed about the security incident at the Trump International Golf Course, where former President Trump was golfing. They are relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team,” the White House said in a statement.
Harris wrote on X that she was glad Trump was safe.
“Violence has no place in America,” she wrote.
Trump’s running mate JD Vance said he had spoken to him before the news was made public.
“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,” Vance wrote on X.
On July 13, a gunman shot at Trump from a nearby rooftop at a campaign event in Pennsylvania.
Trump was injured by a bullet to his right ear and the perpetrator was shot dead by security forces shortly afterwards. One man died and two others were injured at the rally.