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Former President Donald Trump is safe and uninjured after an individual reportedly opened fire at his golf course in Florida on Sunday.
“There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL. Nothing will slow me down. I will never surrender. I will always love you for supporting me. Unity. Peace. Make American Great Again,” Trump said in an email to supporters.
The Secret Service said it was investigating the incident, which occurred just before 2 p.m., with local authorities.
“The Secret Service, in conjunction with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, is investigating a protective incident involving former President Donald Trump that occurred shortly before 2 p.m. The former president is safe,” Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said.
“President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity. No further details at this time,” said Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman.
“According to two people briefed on the incident, the former president was golfing at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach early Sunday afternoon when agents heard gunshots. He was taken away to a holding room at the club. The Secret Service has long been concerned about Trump’s vulnerability on his golf courses, which remain open to parts of the public and are often near heavily trafficked areas,” the Washington Post reported.
“No one was believed to have been hit by the shots, the people said. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the incident occurred shortly before 2 p.m. The Secret Service and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office are jointly investigating the shooting and ‘will have more details soon,’ Guglielmi said on X. He repeated that Trump ‘is safe,'” the outlet added.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office apprehended a suspect on Florida’s Interstate 95 after he seemed to attempt to escape on foot, according to a Secret Service person briefed on the situation.
The White House released a statement stating that Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden have been told about the incident. The White House stated that they are “relieved to know that he is safe” and that they will receive updates on the situation.
🚨 #BREAKING: STATEMENT FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP ON ASS*SSINATION ATTEMPT
FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT! pic.twitter.com/0Lbhh1SeXi
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) September 15, 2024
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed on the incident on Sunday afternoon, the White House said.
“The President and Vice President have been briefed about the security incident at the Trump International Golf Course, where former President Trump was golfing. They are relieved to know that he is safe,” the White House statement said. “They will be kept regularly updated by their team.”
This comes as Trump announced a plan that could win him a higher percentage of middle-class workers’ votes.
Speaking at a rally in Arizona on Thursday, he said that if he became president again, he would spearhead an effort to end taxes on overtime pay, The Daily Wire reported.
“As part of our additional tax cuts, we will end all taxes on overtime,” he said as he stood in front of a sign that read “No Tax On Tips.”
“It’s time for the working man and woman to finally catch a break,” the former president said. “I think it’s going to be great for the country. So that’s why we will be saying that if you’re an overtime worker when you’re past 40 hours a week, think of that, your overtime hours will be tax-free.”
“The people who work overtime are among the hardest working citizens in our country and for too long no one in Washington has been looking out for them,” he said. “Those are the people, really work. They are police officers, nurses, factory workers, construction workers, truck drivers, and machine operators.”