A suspect in an incident the FBI is investigating as another attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was captured quickly, and was within 300 to 500 yards of Trump as he was playing golf Sunday at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to the local sheriff.
"At 1:30 p.m. a call came out that there were shots fired," West Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters at a press conference held with federal law enforcement officials Sunday afternoon. "We had units hear that immediately and seal off the area."
He said a witness told law enforcement officials that he saw a man jump into a black Nissan and that he took a picture of the car and its tags.
"Our real-time crime center put it out to the license plate readers, and we were able to get a hit on that vehicle on I-95 as it was headed toward Martin County," he said.
Martin County Sheriff Will Snyder told CNN earlier that his units were able to stop the vehicle, and took the suspect into custody. The FBI reportedly is holding him for questioning, Snyder said.
The suspect has not yet been identified to the public, but the FBI said it is investigating the incident as an attempted assassination of Trump.
Bradshaw told reporters that the witness who saw the man fleeing the scene also identified him to the FBI.
Meanwhile, law enforcement officials found an AK-47 "style" rifle, equipped with a scope, that had been left behind in the bushes where the man had been hiding.
In addition, there was a GoPro and two backpacks. The items are being processed, said Bradshaw.
"The Secret Service agent that was at the course did a fantastic job," said Bradshaw. "They have an agent that jumps one hole at a time ahead of the president. He was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engaged that individual."
A Secret Service representative, who did not give his name during the press conference, said that Trump is safe and out of harm following the "protective incident" Sunday afternoon.
He confirmed that Secret Service personnel fired shots at the gunman, who reportedly did not fire any shots.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Veltri, the special agent in charge of the FBI's field office in Miami, confirmed that the bureau has assumed the role of investigating the incident.
"We've deployed a number of resources, including investigative teams, crisis response team members, bomb technicians, and evidence response team members," Veltri said. "What we need right now is for the public to avoid the area around the golf course."
Bradshaw, meanwhile, insisted that the crime scene is "safe" and that the community is not in danger.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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