US election campaign: FBI suspects attempted assassination of Trump

The Secret Service says it appears to have foiled an attempted assassination of Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump. According to the security service responsible for protecting high-ranking politicians in the USA, Trump is safe and unharmed. According to police, shots were fired while Trump was playing golf in the state of Florida. Even hours later, it was unclear whether only the bodyguards fired the shots or whether the suspected assassin also fired. The police arrested a suspect who they believe to be the attacker.

The Secret Service shot the suspected perpetrator in West Palm Beach on Sunday afternoon (local time), said Rafael Barros, a spokesman for the security service. The armed man was on the edge of Trump’s golf club and then fled, it was reported. A car was stopped on a highway near the Palm Beach crime scene and the driver was taken into custody, said William D. Snyder of the responsible police. The man appeared calm and composed.

Suspect only a few hundred meters away from Trump

Many questions were initially unanswered – the authorities announced the first details at a press conference: A Secret Service agent was able to see a gun barrel sticking out of the fence at the crime scene, said the responsible sheriff, Ric Bradshaw. The gunman was about 270 to 450 meters away from Trump, who was playing golf at his club. Bradshaw said it was unclear whether the suspect had also fired – or just the Secret Service. After the man fled, an AK-47 assault rifle with a telescopic sight and a camera were found in the bushes.

The sheriff also said that a witness saw a man running out of the bushes and took a photo of his vehicle. This led to the arrest of the suspect on a highway near the crime scene, Sheriff Bradshaw said. “There is no longer any danger,” he said. CNN reported that the suspect is being questioned – but has not yet made a statement.

Trump will “never give up”

Trump himself made a combative statement after the incident: “I will NEVER GIVE UP!” Trump wrote to supporters in an email a few hours after the incident, US media reported. Shots were fired near him, but he was “SAFE AND WELL”. According to media reports, Trump returned to his Mar-a-Lago estate after the incident, which is about a ten-minute drive from the golf course.

Biden and Harris “relieved”

US President Joe Biden and his deputy Kamala Harris said they were both “relieved” to know that the Republican presidential candidate was safe. Harris, who is running for the Democrats against Trump in the presidential election in early November, wrote on X: “Violence has no place in America.” The Democratic vice presidential candidate, Tim Walz, also expressed similar sentiments. Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance wrote on X that he was also relieved and had spoken to Trump before news of the incident became known – “and he was surprisingly in good spirits.”

In mid-July, a gunman shot at Trump from a nearby rooftop during a campaign rally in the state of Pennsylvania. Trump was wounded in the right ear by a bullet, and the perpetrator was shot dead by security forces shortly afterwards.