FBI investigates alleged assassination plot against Trump

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has announced that it is looking into an incident involving a shooter at the golf course owned by former President Donald Trump in Florida, which is being regarded as a potential "attempted assassination."

News ID: 85015

Date: 16 September 2024 - 08:44

TEHRAN (Defapress) - The campaign of Donald Trump has confirmed that he is unharmed following reports of gunfire in his vicinity.

"President Trump is safe after gunshots were reported nearby. Additional information is not available at this moment," stated campaign spokesman Steven Cheung on Sunday.

The FBI announced on Sunday that it is looking into what seems to be an attempted assassination of the former President.

According to two law enforcement officials who spoke to the Associated Press, agents from the US Secret Service, responsible for the protection of current and former presidents as well as other dignitaries, discharged their weapons upon observing an individual armed with a firearm near Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he was playing golf.

The incident occurred on the golf course premises, and a "person of interest" has been taken into custody along with a firearm, as reported by the New York Times, citing local law enforcement sources.

At the time of the incident, Trump was accompanied by his Secret Service protective detail when the shots were fired.

A 58-year-old man has been charged with aiming an AK-47 at former President Donald Trump on Sunday afternoon, and he possesses an extensive criminal history that spans multiple decades.

Ryan Wesley Routh was apprehended shortly after the Trump International Golf Club incident in West Palm Beach, Florida. According to authorities, Secret Service agents discharged their weapons upon observing the muzzle of Routh's AK-47 protruding through a chain-link fence, just one hole away from where Trump was playing.

Authorities are regarding this incident as a potential assassination attempt on Trump.

Routh, originally from North Carolina, has a record of arrests that includes offenses such as simple drug possession, driving without a valid license, expired vehicle inspection, and operating a vehicle without insurance.