WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. >> Donald Trump was the target of what the FBI said “appears to be an attempted assassination” at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee survived another attempt on his life. The former president said he was safe and well, and authorities held a man in custody.

U.S. Secret Service agents stationed a few holes up from where Trump was playing noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through the shrubbery that lines the course, roughly 400 yards away.

An agent fired and the gunman dropped the rifle and fled in an SUV, leaving the firearm behind along with two backpacks, a scope used for aiming and a GoPro camera, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said. The man was later stopped by law enforcement in a neighboring county.

He had a calm, flat demeanor and showed little emotion when he was stopped and didn’t question why he was pulled over, according Martin County Sheriff William Snyder.

“He never asked, ‘What is this about?’ Obviously, law enforcement with long rifles, blue lights, a lot going on. He never questioned it,” Snyder said.

It was the latest jarring moment in a campaign year marked by unprecedented upheaval. On July 13, Trump was shot during a rally in Butler, Penn., and a bullet grazed his ear. Eight days later, Democratic President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, giving way for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the party’s nominee.

And it spawned new questions about Secret Service protective operations after the agency’s admitted failures in preventing the assassination attempt this summer.

In an email to supporters, Trump said: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL!” He wrote: “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”

He returned to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach where he lives, according to a person familiar with Trump’s movements who was not authorized to discuss them publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately clear whether the development would affect his campaign schedule. Trump was set to speak from Florida about cryptocurrency live on Monday night on the social media site X. He planned a town hall Tuesday in Flint, Mich., followed by a rally Wednesday on New York’s Long Island.

An email to Trump campaign staffers obtained by AP said, “This is not a matter that we take lightly. Your safety is always our top priority. We ask that you remain vigilant in your daily comings and goings.”

Biden and Harris were briefed on the matter, and Harris said in a statement that “violence has no place in America.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, said he and his wife, Gwen, are glad to hear Trump is safe.

In the aftermath, Trump checked in with allies, including running mate Ohio Sen. JD Vance, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and several Fox News hosts. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday evening he had spent the past few hours with Trump and called him “unstoppable.”

A ‘pop pop, pop pop’

Fox News host Sean Hannity recounted on air his conversation with Trump and the former president’s golf partner, Steve Witkoff.

They told Hannity they had been on the fifth hole and about to go up to putt when they heard a “pop pop, pop pop.” Within seconds, he said Witkoff recounted, Secret Service agents “pounced” on Trump and “covered him” to protect him.

A witness saw the man flee from the bushes to a black Nissan, the sheriff said. The witness took a photo of the car and shared it with law enforcement officials. The man was stopped driving northbound on Interstate 95 after crossing into Martin County.

Law enforcement officials are running a trace to determine who bought the gun and where it was sold, according to two officials.

Snyder, the Martin County sheriff, said the suspect was apprehended within minutes of the FBI, Secret Service and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office putting out a “very urgent BOLO” — or “be on the lookout” alert.

Snyder said his deputies “immediately flooded” northbound I-95 and “one of my road patrol units saw the vehicle, matched the tag and we set up on the vehicle,” Snyder said, “We pinched in on the car, got it safely stopped and got the driver in custody.”

Security plans

His campaign had not announced any public plans for Trump on Sunday. He often spends the morning playing golf.

Trump has had a stepped-up security footprint since the assassination attempt in July. When he is at Trump Tower in New York, parked dump trucks have formed a wall outside the building. At outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind bulletproof glass.

The Florida golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, but there are several areas around the perimeter of the property where golfers are visible from the fence line. Secret Service agents and officers in golf carts and on ATVs generally secure the area several holes ahead and behind Trump when he plays. Agents also usually bring an armored vehicle onto the course to shelter Trump quickly should a threat arise.

The Palm Beach County sheriff said the entire golf course would have been lined with law enforcement if Trump were the president, but because he isn’t, “security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.”

“I would imagine that the next time he comes to the golf course, there will probably be a little more people around the perimeter,” Bradshaw said. “But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done, they provided exactly what the protection should have been and their agent did a fantastic job.”

In an email to campaign staff Sunday night, senior campaign advisers Chris La- Civita and Susie Wiles credited the Secret Service for saving Trump, who has praised the agents in his own protective detail for their bravery as they rushed on stage to protect him in Butler, Penn.

“President Trump and everyone accompanying him are safe thanks to the great work of the United States Secret Service,” they wrote.

The man in custody was Ryan Routh, three law enforcement officials told the AP.

Records show Routh, 58, lived in North Carolina for most of his life before moving to Hawaii in 2018. In 2020, he made a social media post backing Trump’s reelection, but in more recent years his posts have expressed support for Biden and Harris.

The FBI was leading the investigation and working to determine any motive.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said the state will independently investigate the matter, posting on X that, “The people deserve the truth about the would be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the former president and current GOP nominee.”

Possible charges

Law enforcement sources told the Miami Herald Sunday evening that the case is being handled by the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The suspect in custody will have his first appearance in West Palm Beach federal court at 10 a.m. on Monday.

State prosecutors are filing their own charges and working on search warrants, according to Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg, and intend to keep the suspect behind bars pending trial.

What charges the suspect faces remained unclear Sunday evening, though current and former law enforcement authorities told the Herald the suspect would likely be charged federally with making “threats against former Presidents and certain other persons protected by the Secret Service,” including “a major candidate for the office of President or Vice President.”

Other charges might include using a firearm to carry out a crime of violence.

“Based on the description of the federal statute and the evidence gathered so far, he would be subject to prosecution and face a maximum sentence of five years if convicted of that offense,” said Miami defense lawyer David Weinstein, who was chief of the National Security Section at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Florida from 2007 to 2009.

Weinstein said the suspect’s potential punishment could be higher based on his use of a firearm in the alleged attempted assassination and on whether he has a criminal history.

This report includes information from the New York Times and the Merced Sun-Star (Merced, Calif.).