FBI Is Investigating Trump Golf Course Gunshots as an Attempted Assassination of Donald Trump

“Former President Donald Trump is safe and unharmed,” an official said at a press conference, noting a suspect is in custody

The FBI has assumed the role of lead investigators of the Florida shooting incident at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach.

At a press conference on Sunday, Sept. 15, just hours after the gunshots, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it is investigating the incident as an attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, 78.

“Former President Donald Trump is safe and unharmed following a protective incident shortly before 2 p.m. on Sunday,” a Secret Service official added. “The U.S. Secret Service personnel opened fire on a gunman located near the property line and this matter is under investigation.”

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said that a Secret Service agent at the golf course spotted an AK-47 style rifle with scope, two backpacks and a GoPro camera, which are all being processed as evidence.

A suspect is now in custody, the sheriff confirmed.

The suspect's charges, a photo and background details have not been released yet. The suspect will be booked into county jail.

The shooter was roughly 300 to 500 yards away from Trump, Bradsaw said, noting that “with a rifle and a scope ... that’s not a long distance.”

“The Secret Service agent that was on the course did a fantastic job,” Bradshaw noted, emphasizing that protocol is to have an agent one or two holes ahead of Trump to give the all clear. “He was able to spot this rifle barrel ... and immediately engage that individual.”

Bradshaw said the suspect fled the scene, but an unnamed witness saw this happening and snapped a photo of his vehicle and license plate, which helped the Martin County Sheriff’s Office apprehend the suspect once they found the black Nissan in their jurisdiction.

FBI special agent Jeffrey B. Veltri added that, “We’ve deployed a number of resources including the investigative teams, crisis response team members, bomb technicians and evidence response team members.”

“What we need right now is for the public to avoid the area around the golf course,” Veltri continued. “We will continue to support this investigation with the full resources of the FBI alongside our partners with the United States Secret Service and the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office, as well as Martin County Sheriff’s Office and state and local law enforcement.”

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The FBI is asking the public to submit any useful information about the incident to 1-800-CALL-FBI or to the FBI’s tip site.

Sunday's shooting comes two months after Trump was rushed offstage mid-speech by Secret Service agents at a Pennsylvania rally on July 13 due to gunshots. Trump's ear was injured in the incident, which an FBI special agent described as an “assassination attempt.”

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