Trump safe, campaign allays fears after another gunshots

By : Guardian Nigeria

Date: 16 September 2024 4:48am WAT

FILES-US-POLITICS-TRUMP-ASSASSINATION-BULLET

(FILES) US former President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, a bandage on his ear after he was injured during an assassination attempt, speaks onstage during the last day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 18, 2024. - Trump was indeed hit by an assassin's bullet or a fragment of one, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on July 26, 2024, putting to rest questions over the nature of the Republican candidate's wounding at a campaign rally this month. "What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject's rifle," the FBI said in a statement. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

Former President Donald Trump is safe following gunshots “in his vicinity”, his campaign said, after an incident took place near his Florida golf club on Sunday.

“President Trump is safe,” his campaign communications director, Steven Cheung, said, adding that there were “no further details at this time”.

The Secret Service confirmed in a post on X that they were investigating a “protective incident” involving Trump that took place yearterday morning.

The White House confirmed President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris had been briefed about the incident that they said took place at the Trump International Golf Course, “where former President Trump was golfing.

“They are relieved to know that he is safe. They will be kept regularly updated by their team,” the White House said.

In a post on X, Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, said shots were fired at Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida. He said a suspect had been apprehended.

The latest incident comes almost exactly two months after a gunman attempted to assassinate Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, striking his ear.

Trump was injured while addressing a crowd in Butler, Pennsylvania, on 13 July when a gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, fired at him with an AR-15–style rifle from the roof of a nearby building. The shooting left one audience member dead, while Crooks, 20, was killed at the scene by a Secret Service sniper.

The Secret Service faced intense scrutiny over how the shooter from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, was able to open fire on the former president. The director of the agency, Kimberly Cheatle, resigned within two weeks of the incident.