FBI investigating ‘apparent assassination attempt’ on Donald Trump
One person has been arrested and an assault rifle recovered after “an apparent assassination attempt” on Donald Trump, according to the FBI.
Mr Trump was believed to have been taking part in a round at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach when shots were heard at 2pm local time.
According to Sky’s US partner NBC, Secret Service agents saw someone they suspected of aiming a gun at the former president, so they opened fire.
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Secret Service move Trump to safety after shots heard
It is not yet known whether the suspect fired first or fired a round at all or if only the Secret Service fired.
One person is currently being questioned by local police and a gun was found in the bushes near where the former president was playing.
Police vehicles are pictured near Trump International Golf Club. Pic: AP
Afterwards, a statement from Mr Trump said: “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 America Great Again. May God bless you.”
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told reporters his officers followed the suspect vehicle for a while before making a “felony stop”.
“Our road units picked the vehicle up and we waited a while. We didn’t stop him right away. We didn’t want a high-speed chase.
“So we were able to wait until we had adequate units, surrounded the vehicle, and forced it to a stop.”
He added that due to good tactics, they managed to take the suspect into custody peacefully.
A witness said he saw “20 or more cop cars flying from nearby streets” as he described the emergency response outside Mr Trump’s golf course.
“From what I saw, five black unmarked SUVs blocked in a grey Mercedes in front of the golf course,” Max Egusquiza told the AP news agency.
“There were about 20 or more cop cars flying from nearby streets,” he said.
Mr Trump has since returned to his Mar-a-Lago resort.
A White House statement 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. They will be kept regularly updated by their team.”
It comes two months after the Republican presidential nominee was shot during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania.
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine
Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
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