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White House says both President Biden and Trump’s rival Kamala Harris were ‘relieved’ to know Trump is safe.
Former United States President Donald Trump said he is “safe and well” after gunshots were reported in his vicinity as he played golf at his resort in Florida.
The FBI said it is “investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump”, in the incident the Secret Service said occurred before 2pm local time (18:00 GMT) on Sunday.
“I am safe and well, and no one was hurt. Thank God!” Trump said in a statement on his website.
“But, there are people in this world who will do whatever it takes to stop us,” the Republican presidential nominee added. “I will not stop fighting for you. I will never surrender.”
FBI investigating “attempted assassination”
In a statement, the FBI said it “has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump”.
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, multiple media reports said.
At a joint news conference with the FBI, Secret Service and local officials, officials said that a Secret Service agent, who was one hole ahead of Trump on the golf course, spotted a person with a firearm and fired in his direction.
It was unclear if the suspect fired back at the agent, the officials added.
The Palm County sheriff 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, officials added.
A backpack, GoPro camera, firearm scope and AK-47-style rifle were recovered from the scene, the officials said.
‘Violence has no place in America’
The White House said that 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 both Biden and Harris were “relieved” to know Trump is safe. “Violence has no place in America,” Harris said in a post on X.
Trump was injured in an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on July 13. A bullet grazed his right ear and one person attending the rally was killed in the gunfire.
The attacker, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, was also killed by a Secret Service sniper.
The attack raised questions about protection for the candidates just months ahead of what is likely to be a highly contested November 5 election in which Trump will face off against Harris.
Kimberly Cheatle was forced to resign as Secret Service director under bipartisan congressional pressure. The agency’s new acting director said in August that he was “ashamed” of the security lapse that had led to the assassination attempt on Trump.
