Former President Donald Trump is safe following gunshots “in his vicinity”, his campaign said, after an incident took place near his Florida golf club on Sunday.
Secret Service agents saw a man pointing a rifle at the golf course where Trump was apparently located at the time, law enforcement sources told the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
Agents fired multiple times at the suspect, who tried to run away, the sources said, adding that a suspect is now in custody and a weapon has been recovered.
In an email to his supporters, Trump said he was “safe and well”.
“Nothing will slow me down,” he wrote. “I will never surrender!”
The incident comes almost exactly two months after a gunman attempted to assassinate Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, striking his ear.
The Secret Service confirmed in a post on X that they were investigating a “protective incident” involving Trump that took place shortly before 14:00 EST (19:00 BST) on Sunday.
The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris had been briefed about the incident that they said took place 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.
Harris posted on X that she had been briefed on the matter and was glad Trump was unharmed. “Violence has no place in America,” she wrote.
The BBC has contacted the US Secret Service, the West Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office and Trump campaign for more details.
Trump was injured while addressing a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, on 13 July when a gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, fired at him with an AR-15–style rifle from the roof of a nearby building.
The shooting left one audience member dead, while Crooks, 20, was killed at the scene by a Secret Service sniper.
The Secret Service faced intense scrutiny over how the shooter from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was able to open fire on the former president.
The director of the agency, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned within two weeks of the incident.
