FORMER US President Donald Trump is safe after he escaped an apparent assassination attempt while he was golfing on his course in Florida, a second bid on his life in two months. The incident took place on Sunday at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Secret Service agents “opened fire on a gunman located near the property line” of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Rafael Barros, the special agent in charge in Miami, said during a news conference, adding that the agency was “unsure whether the individual,” who is in custody, “was able to take a shot at our agents.” Trump, who was golfing at the club at the time, was unharmed. According to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, a Secret Service agent spotted the suspect with a rifle sticking through the fence of the golf course and immediately fired at the man before he fled the scene.

 

 

Republican presidential nominee Trump, 78, was 300 to 500 yards away from the suspect, Bradshaw said. “President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity. No further details at this time,” Steven Cheung, Trump Campaign Communications director said in a statement soon after that. In a message to his supporters, Trump said he is safe. “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumours start spiralling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL! Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!” said the former President. Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old owner of a small construction company in Hawaii, has been detained in connection with Sunday’s incident, according to three law enforcement sources.

 

Routh has criticised former President many times. This was second attempt on Trump’s life in two months. In July, a life-threatening attack on Trump during his rally in Pennsylvania shocked the entire nation. He injured his right ear after the young shooter fired multiple shots at him at the campaign rally. Routh, who has a lengthy criminal record from North Carolina, frequently posted about politics and exclusively donated to Democratic candidates and causes dating back to 2019, the New York Post reported. He also bashed Trump in an April 22 post on X in which he declared, “DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose.”