WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.>> Donald Trump was the target Sunday of “what appears to be an attempted assassination” at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla., the FBI said, 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 posted 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 taken in- to custody in a neighboring county.

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, Pa., 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 was sure to add to the questions about Secret Service protective operations after the agency’s admitted failures in preventing the attempted assassination of Trump 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 incident would affect his campaign schedule.

He was set to speak from Florida about cryptocurrency live on Monday night on the social media site X for the launch of his sons’ crypto platform. He planned a town hall Tuesday in Flint, Mich., with his former press secretary, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, 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 and would be kept updated on the investigation. The White House said they were “relieved” to know Trump is safe.

Harris, in a statement, also said “violence has no place in America.”

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. 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.

Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser. His campaign had not advised about any public plans for Trump on Sunday. He often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the club, one of three he owns in the state.

He has had a stepped-up security footprint since the assassination attempt in July. When he has been at Trump Tower in New York, parked dump trucks have formed a wall outside the building. At outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind an enclosure of 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 is not, “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.”