Trump targeted at golf course in apparent assassination attempt

Man in custody after Secret Service fired at suspect

Donald Trump was the target of what the FBI said "appears to be an attempted assassination" at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday, just nine weeks after the Republican U.S. 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 365 metres 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 neighbouring county.

He had a calm, flat demeanour 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 at 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 VicePresident 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 attempted assassination of Trump this summer.

The man in custody was Ryan Routh, three law enforcement officials said. The officials who identified the suspect spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.