< strong>The suspect in connection with the shooting near the ex-president of the United States Donald Trump is Ryan Wesley Root, a 58-year-old man from Hawaii, reported in the New York Times and Fox News TV, quoted by Reuters. The agency notes that the FBI declined to confirm his identity.
U.S. law enforcement officials said that agents of the U.S. Secret Service spotted and shot a gunman in bushes near Trump's golf course. He had an AK-47 assault rifle.
Agents spotted the barrel of the gun, between 1,000 and 1,000 feet from Trump as they cleared the holes of potential threats before Trump played. They immediately clashed with the armed man and fired at least four rounds.
The incident happened between 1:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. local time, Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw said at a news conference.
The shooter discarded his assault rifle, two backpacks and other items and fled in a black Nissan SUV.
According to the sheriff, a witness saw the shooter and was able to take pictures of the car and its license plate.
"Secret Service" she did exactly what she had to do," Bradshaw emphasized.
After the suspect fled the scene, law enforcement officials said they sent a tip to state authorities with information about his vehicle. As a result, sheriff's deputies in neighboring Martin County apprehended the suspect on Interstate 95.
"We currently have a person in custody," said only Bradshaw, who did not identify the suspect or provide details on his possible motives.
Ex-president Donald Trump assured his supporters that he is fine and will not give up, world agencies reported.
"There were shots fired near me, but before the rumors get out of hand, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND I AM FINE!," Trump said in an email to supporters, as cited by the Associated Press.
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"Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER GIVE UP!", he added.
US Vice President Kamala Harris, a rival of Trump in the election campaign, condemned the violence in the country after the information about a shooting near the place where the Republican candidate was playing golf, France Press notes.
"I was made aware of the shooting near former President Trump and his property in Florida and I am glad he is safe. "Violence has no place in America," wrote the candidate of the Democratic Party in Ex.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, said he and his wife, Gwen, were glad to hear Trump was safe. "Violence has no place in our country," he emphasized in Ex. "We are not that as a nation.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he had been briefed by the acting director of the Secret Service and praised the agency for its agents' quick response to ensure the former president's safety. He emphasized that he condemned "political violence of any kind" and called for the perpetrator "to be prosecuted with all the rigor of the law".
"It is abundantly clear that there are bullies who are ready to do anything to prevent President Trump from entering the White House," Florida Senator Rick Scott said in Ex.
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told DoubleUP TV that the suspect believed to be involved in the incident "was not armed when we pulled him out of the car". The man had a calm, composed demeanor and did not show much emotion when he was stopped by police, Snyder said, stressing that the suspect did not ask why he was being stopped.
"He didn't ask at all: "What is it about? Obviously law enforcement with guns, blue lights, lots of stuff going on. He didn't ask any questions at all," the sheriff emphasized.
The Kyodo news agency reports that according to a Florida investigator, the suspect was about 370-460 meters from Trump.
The White House said immediately after the incident that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump's Democratic presidential rival, were relieved to hear Trump was safe.
The FBI said at a press conference that it is investigating the case, which appears to be an attempt to kill the former US president, Reuters notes.
Agents of the US Secret Service opened fire after seeing a man with a firearm near former US President Donald Trump's golf club in the state of Florida, while the Republican-backed presidential candidate was playing golf, the Associated Press reports. .
The gunman fled in an SUV and was later apprehended in a nearby Florida county by law enforcement officials, according to the AP sources, who were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
Secret Service agents took these measures after the man poked the muzzle of a weapon resembling an AK-47 through the golf course fence. After the shots fired by the agents, he dropped the weapon and ran away.
The FBI later said that Trump appeared to be the target of an assassination attempt, the AP noted.
US Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, said in Aix that he had spoken with the former president after the incident and that he was "in good spirits".
"He is one of the strongest people I know," Graham stressed,
Trump often plays golf in the morning before having lunch at his golf club, one of three he owns in the state of Florida. Security measures around it have been increased since the previous incident in July. When he was at Trump Tower in New York, a chain of garbage trucks formed a wall around the building. At outdoor rallies, he already speaks from behind a wall of armored glass, AP recalls.