Biden says ‘relieved’ and will ‘ensure that Secret Service has every resource’ to protect Trump
The White House has released a statement from President Joe Biden, in which he says, “I am relieved that the former President is unharmed.”
Biden also says he has, “directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety.”
Here is the full statement:
I have been briefed by my team regarding what federal law enforcement is investigating as a possible assassination attempt of former President Trump today. A suspect is in custody, and I commend the work of the Secret Service and their law enforcement partners for their vigilance and their efforts to keep the former President and those around him safe. I am relieved that the former President is unharmed. There is an active investigation into this incident as law enforcement gathers more details about what happened. As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country, and I have directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety.
Key events
The apparent assassination attempt at the Trump International club in West Palm Beach is liable to lead to a shake up of the way security is handled for former president Donald Trump.
Californian Democratic Rep Ro Khanna was quoted by AP as saying “Two assassination attempts in 60 days on a former president and the Republican nominee is unacceptable. The Secret Service must come to Congress tomorrow, tell us what resources are needed to expand the protective perimeter, and lets allocate it in a bipartisan vote the same day.”
Palm Beach county sheriff Ric Bradshaw had earlier said “He’s not the sitting president. If he was, we would have had this entire golf course surrounded. But because he’s not, his security is limited to the areas that the secret service deems possible.”
Connecticut Sen Richard Blumenthal, already chair of a Senate subcommittee looking into security failures that allowed Thomas Matthew Crooks to shoot at Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, was quoted by the New York Times saying “The facts about a second incident certainly warrant very close attention and scrutiny. A second serious incident, apparently involving an assault weapon, is deeply alarming and appalling.”
Here is a map that shows where the incident occurred, after Secret Service agents scouting the course ahead of where Trump was playing spotted the muzzle of a firearm poking through a fence in a wooded area at the Trump International club in West Palm Beach.
The agent opened fire and the suspect fled, the Palm Beach county sheriff, Ric Bradshaw, told reporters. He said a witness took photographs of the suspect and the vehicle he drove off in, and a person was later stopped and detained on Interstate 95 by deputies in Martin county, immediately north of Palm Beach county.
The FBI, in a statement, said the agency believed it was the second attempt on Trump’s life in two months after he was injured in a shooting at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on 13 July. A spectator was killed, two others were injured, and Secret Service snipers shot the would-be assassin dead.
Trump was immediately surrounded by security personnel and was unharmed in Sunday’s incident, which occurred about 1.30pm as he was between the 5th and 6th holes, Bradshaw said, adding that his deputies immediately sealed off the area.
Summary
If you’re just tuning in, here is where things stand:
The Republican presidential candidate and former US president Donald Trump is “safe and unharmed” after US Secret Service agents opened fire when they spotted a person with a firearm at the Trump international golf course west of Palm Beach, where the former president’s Mar-a-Lago resort home is located. Law enforcement officials said the gunman was in some bushes near the property line of the golf course when Secret Service agents, who were clearing holes ahead of where Trump was playing, spotted a rifle barrel in the bushes.
In a late night post on his Truth Social account, Donald Trump has thanked the secret service and other law enforcement for their “incredible job” of keeping him safe. After stating that it had been an “interesting day”, Trump went on to further commend law enforcement officials: “THE JOB DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”
Agents engaged the gunman and fired at least four rounds of ammunition about 1.30pm local time. The gunman then dropped his rifle, two backpacks and other items and fled in a black Nissan car. A witness, the sheriff said, saw the gunman and managed to take photos of his car and license plate. In a press conference, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said a male suspect had been detained by authorities. According to Bradshaw, the suspect was relatively calm.
Officials acknowledged that because Trump is not in office, the full golf course was not cordoned off.“If he was, we would have had the entire golf course surrounded,” Bradshaw said during Sunday’s briefing. “Because he’s not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.”
The gunman was spotted between 300 and 500 yards from where Trump was playing, Secret Service officials said.
The FBI called the incident “what appears to be an attempted assassination of the former president”. The FBI and other law enforcement officials said the suspect had a scope on an AK47 rifle, and a GoPro camera with which he apparently intended to record footage and two backpacks with ceramic tiles in it.
The suspect has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, aged 58, a source with direct knowledge of the investigation has told the Guardian. The same name was reported by other US media outlets including the Associated Press, Fox news and CNN. Law enforcement officials have not officially named a suspect or given any immediate indication of a motive. Secret service and homeland security agents searched a former home of the suspect.
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 added, “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”. Trump was injured in an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania on 13 July.
The White House said in a statement that President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris had been briefed about the incident and were relieved to know that Trump is safe. “Violence has no place in America,” Harris said in a social media post. Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz issued a statement, posting on X: “Gwen and I are glad to hear that Donald Trump is safe. Violence has no place in our country. It’s not who we are as a nation.”
Later, Biden and Harris released separate statements. Biden said, “I am relieved that the former President is unharmed.” Biden also said he has, “directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety.” Harris reiterated Biden’s call for protective measures and said she said she was “deeply disturbed” by the apparent assassination attempt.
Trump’s running mate in the presidential election, US senator JD Vance, said he spoke to Trump after the shooting and that the former president was in good spirits. The South Carolina Republican senator Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s top congressional allies, said he had spoken with the former president after the incident and that Trump was in “good spirits” and was “one of the strongest people I’ve ever known”.
Trump will be briefed in person on the investigation by acting secret service director Ronald Rowe, the Associated Press reports. Earlier, CNN reported that Rowe was on his way to Florida. Rowe has held the Service’s most senior position since Kimberly Cheatle resigned in July after the assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham, in an interview with the New York Times, said he had spoken with Trump and the former president expressed gratitude for his Secret Service detail, adding that the president said, “These people are awesome.”
Florida governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has said on X that, “the State of Florida will be conducting its own investigation regarding the attempted assassination at Trump International Golf Club.” He added, “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”.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has released a statement on the apparent assassination attempt, saying, “Political violence has no place in a civilised society. I am thankful that former President Trump is safe and that the alleged perpetrator is in custody. He should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
News reporters were not with Trump on Sunday, the Associated Press reports. Bucking tradition, Trump’s campaign has not arranged to have a protective pool of reporters travel with him, as is standard for major party nominees and for the president. Harris does not have a protective pool at all times, but does allow reporters to travel with her for public events.
Democrats are pumping $25m into expanded voter outreach across 10 states, the Associated Press reports.
“A formidable ground game makes all the difference in close races,” DSCC Chairman Senator Gary Peters of Michigan said in a statement. “We are reaching every voter we need to win.”
The latest investment will be distributed across Arizona, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. The money will go toward efforts to defend five Democratic incumbents and open seats in Michigan, Maryland and Arizona that are currently included in Democrats’ majority, as well as efforts to unseat GOP incumbents in Florida and Texas.
Plans for the money will vary by state but will include hiring more paid field organisers and canvassers; digital organising programs targeting specific groups of voters online; texting programs; and in-person organising events targeting younger generations and nonwhite voters.
David Aronberg, the state attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida, has been speaking to CNN about the arrest of the man in connection with the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
Aronberg said he was calm as he was detained, and did not speak to officers.
“He knew enough to stay silent,” Aronberg told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
A source with direct knowledge of the investigation confirmed Routh was the suspect in the case. The Guardian also spoke with Routh’s son, Oran Routh, who confirmed his father has been detained but did not provide further details.
The Associated Press has reported that on Monday, Trump will be briefed in person on the investigation into the apparent assassination attempt by acting secret service director Ronald Rowe.
Earlier CNN reported that Rowe was on his way to Florida. Rowe has held the Service’s most senior position since Kimberly Cheatle resigned in July after the assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Former presidents and their spouses have secret service protection for life, but the security around former presidents varies according to threat levels and exposure, with the toughest measures typically being taken in the immediate aftermath of their leaving office.
Trump’s protective detail has been higher than some other former presidents because of his high visibility and his campaign to seek the White House again.
Trump thanks secret service and law enforcement
In a late night post on his Truth Social account, Donald Trump has thanked the secret service and other law enforcement for their “incredible job” of keeping him safe.
After stating that it had been an “interesting day”, Trump went on to further commend law enforcement officials:
THE JOB DONE WAS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING. I AM VERY PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!”
New York Republican congresswoman Elise Stefanik has said she expects there to be a “clear explanation of what happened today in Florida”.
Stefanik has emerged this year as a major backer of Donald Trump and was reportedly in the running to be his presidential running mate, before JD Vance was named.
In a statement posted online, she thanked the “hardworking law enforcement officers working to keep President Trump, his family and his team safe”, before asking how the suspect “was allowed to get this close to President Trump”.
Security officials search suspect’s home in North Carolina
The Reuters news agency has filed some images of secret service and homeland security agents searching a former home of the suspect, who has been named by news organisations as Ryan Routh.
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