What we know so far about Trump assassination attempt- QHN

Donald Trump was rushed to safety on Sunday after what the FBI described as an apparent assassination attempt at a Florida golf course.

The incident comes just two months after another assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump was shot in the ear during a campaign rally.

Details are still emerging from the latest incident. Here is what we know so far.

The incident unfolded at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The gunman was spotted by Secret Service agents, who were ahead of Trump on the course to carry out security checks on holes the former president was heading towards.

The agents usually go one hole ahead of time to where Trump is, according to security officials.

County sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the shooter was set up in the bushes on the edge of the golf course near holes five, six and seven.

Agents spotted a rifle barrel poking out of bushes at around 13:30 local time (17:30 GMT).

He told a press conference the gunman was “in an area in the shrubbery where he could see both holes”.

Officials also said that Trump was about 300-500 yards (274-557m) away from the shooter.

Lines of thick shrubbery along Congress Avenue – the road on the right in the image below – would have given some cover to the suspect, if he had been hiding there.

Agents opened fire when they spotted the gunman and fired four to five rounds of ammunition. It is not known whether the gunman fired back.

The shooter fled in a car. He was later stopped and arrested on I-95 highway close to the golf course.

An AK-47-style rifle, a GoPro camera and two backpacks were later found near to where the gunman had been hiding, officials said.

A “witness” who saw the gunman was able to take photographs of his car and license plate, according to the sheriff.

An individual described as a “potential suspect” is currently being held in custody.

Multiple officials have told the BBC’s US partner, CBS News, the suspect’s name is Ryan Wesley Routh.

Trump was uninjured during the incident. His campaign team initially said there were “gunshots in his vicinity”.

Shortly after the incident was confirmed by his campaign team, Trump issued a statement to his fundraising list, which read: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumours start spiralling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL”.

A later campaign email quoted Trump as saying his “resolve is only stronger after another attempt on my life”.

During the same news conference, Jeffrey Veltri from the FBI Miami Field Office said the bureau was leading investigations alongside other law enforcement agencies.

“We’ve deployed a number of resources, including investigative teams, crisis response team members, bomb technicians and evidence response team members,” Veltri said, adding that the “full resources of the FBI” alongside the US Secret Service, the Palm Beach Sheriff’s office and Martin County Sheriff’s office were mobilised.

The White House said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the Democrats’ presidential candidate, had been briefed about the incident and were relieved to know that he is safe.

“Violence has no place in America,” Harris said in a post on social media.