SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
There has been another apparent assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. That's according to the FBI. The incident took place at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Fla., while Trump was on the course. Trump is safe and secure, according to his campaign. Law enforcement says a suspect is in custody and is being questioned right now. This happened, of course, two months and two days after a would-be assassin fired shots at Trump and others during a rally in Butler, Pa. NPR's Luke Garrett has been following the story and joins us now. Welcome.
LUKE GARRETT, BYLINE: Thanks for having me.
DETROW: A lot of moving parts to the story. I should say, law enforcement is giving a briefing as we do this segment right now, so there's going to be more information that we learn throughout the day. But what do we know so far?
GARRETT: So let's start at the beginning. At 2 p.m. Eastern, just three hours ago, shots were fired near the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, Fla. We know that Secret Service fired first. The former president was playing golf at the time and then was quickly rushed off to safety after the shots rang out. Both Secret Service and officers from the Palm Beach Sheriff's department responded to this incident. There are reports that, again, Secret Service agents fired first.
The world learned - the world, I should say, learned about this shooting when Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung sent out a press release saying, quote, "President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity." Again, the Secret Service have also confirmed that the former president is safe.
DETROW: What have law enforcement officials said so far about this incident?
GARRETT: So beyond the basic when and where, we know that a person of interest is in custody. That's according to Teri Barbera, a spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. This person is being questioned by officers. The sheriff's department says that deputies detained this driver, who was in a wanted vehicle that they believed was in connection to the shooting. This person was taken into custody along I-95.
And the former president's son, Don Jr., says that an AK-47 was used, you know, in the shooting. He said that the high-powered rifle was found in the bushes close by. The Secret Service has since, you know, confirmed that in its press briefing that is ongoing. And just a few minutes ago, the FBI characterized this incident as a potential assassination attempt. Now, this is important because this tells us a little bit about, you know, their thoughts on this matter. That means that Trump was a potential target, you know, for this shooting. At the beginning of this, we did not know that.
DETROW: We're hearing from this briefing happening right now four to six rounds fired by the Secret Service. Again, it's not clear whether the suspect was able to fire a shot or not. What has the response been from the White House?
GARRETT: So quickly after reports of this shooting incident happened, both the president and the vice president, you know, said that they are relieved to know that Trump is safe, and that they will keep their teams updated and just wishing, you know, the former president well. I'll also add that South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, you know, close confidant of Trump, posted on X saying that he has spoken to Trump and says that he is, quote, "in good spirits."
DETROW: Yeah. As I mentioned, this takes place almost exactly two months after that assassination attempt against Trump this summer. Secret Service has faced a lot of scrutiny since then. How has their protocol changed since the incident in Butler?
GARRETT: So two big changes have occurred. First, thick glass - you know, when you watch a campaign event, both for the former president and for Vice President Kamala Harris, you'll notice a thick, you know, glass there. That is supposed to stave off, you know, what happened in Butler, Pa., only two months ago, also on a Sunday. This is one, you know, act that they've done to try to put some more protection literally around these major candidates running for president. Second, Secret Service has increased the number of officers surrounding former President Donald Trump. This was a main concern, you know, before the Butler shooting and assassination attempt, and they've since, you know, reconciled that issue and put more officers around the former president.
DETROW: Any sense of what's next in the investigation?
GARRETT: You know, one big thing here that's different from the assassination attempt that happened in Butler, Pa., is that there is someone in custody, a person of interest.
DETROW: Right.
GARRETT: That is a potential for a lot of information. So I think, you know, investigators will question this person and try to find more witnesses. There are, obviously, cameras surrounding the golf course. And those are all sources of information that they can tap into, and we'll be waiting for updates.
DETROW: So again, a breaking news story. We know that around 2 o'clock Eastern, there was what the FBI is referring to as an alleged assassination - a possible assassination attempt against former President Trump. We know a Secret Service agent fired multiple shots. We know somebody is in custody. We will be following the details. We will keep you updated as soon as we learn more. Luke Garrett, thank you so much for your reporting on this.
GARRETT: Thanks for having me.
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