FBI investigating ‘apparent assassination attempt’ on Donald Trump – as suspect identified
A man has been arrested and an assault rifle recovered after “an apparent assassination attempt” on Donald Trump, according to the FBI.
Mr Trump was playing a round at Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach when gunshots were heard.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters that a Secret Service agent – who was patrolling the course ahead of Mr Trump – spotted a rifle barrel coming out of a perimeter fence.
“He immediately engaged that individual, at which time the individual took off,” he said.
It is not yet known whether the suspect fired first or fired a round at all or if only the Secret Service fired.
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Secret Service move Trump to safety after shots heard
A witness spotted the man fleeing the scene in a black Nissan and managed to take photos of the car and number plate.
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Trump ‘apparent assassination bid’ timeline
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested after his vehicle was stopped by local police, Sky News’s US partner network NBC News reported, citing three senior law enforcement officials.
Officers later searched the area where the man, believed to be Routh, was spotted and found an AK-47-style rifle with a scope, two rucksacks and a GoPro.
Pictures of the gun and rucksacks were displayed at the news conference
Earlier Martin County Sheriff William Snyder described how his officers followed the suspect’s 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 they managed to take the suspect into custody peacefully.
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What we know about what happened so far
Police vehicles are pictured near Trump International Golf Club. Pic: AP
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Trump says, ‘he will never surrender’
Afterwards, a statement from Mr Trump said: “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumours start spiralling 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.”
Mr Trump’s motorcade heading to Mar-a-Lago after the incident
Mr Trump has since returned to his Mar-a-Lago resort.
President Joe Biden said in a statement that he had been briefed on the “apparent assassination attempt” and was “relieved that the former president is unharmed”.
“As I have said many times, there is no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country,” he said, adding that he has directed his team “to ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former President’s continued safety”.
A White House statement said earlier: “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 sustained an ear injury during an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania in July.
The gunman, who was identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead by the Secret Service at the scene.
The attempt on Mr Trump’s life led to the resignation of Secret Service director Kimberly Cheatle, who admitted to Congress that her agency had its “most significant operational failure” in decades.
World
Beirut blasts: More ‘communication devices’ explode in Lebanon day after Hezbollah members killed
Blasts have been heard in Beirut a day after 12 people were killed by pager explosions across Lebanon.
Reuters has cited a security source and a witness as saying communications devices used by Hezbollah have detonated in the country’s south and in the southern suburbs of the capital.
Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV reported explosions in multiple areas of Lebanon, which it said were the result of walkie-talkies detonating.
Middle East latest: Fresh wave of blasts heard in Lebanon
Smoke rises from a shop in Sidon, south of Beirut, after the explosions on Wednesday. Pic: Reuters
At least one of the blasts heard took place near a funeral organised by Hezbollah for those killed yesterday, Reuters said.
Three people were also reportedly killed in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region in the latest wave of attacks, according to Reuters, citing the country’s state news agency.
This comes after nearly 3,000 people were injured and 12 killed by pager explosions in Lebanon on Tuesday.
Two children were said to be among the dead, according to Lebanese health minister Firas Abiad.
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A firm in Hungary’s capital has been linked to thousands of pagers that exploded in Lebanon in an apparent Israeli operation targeting Hezbollah militants, killing 12 people and seriously injuring thousands.
Images of the destroyed devices showed a format and stickers consistent with the AR-924 model of pagers with Gold Apollo branding – a Taiwan-based company.
But the firm’s founder Hsu Ching-Kuang said the devices were actually made under licence in Budapest by a firm called BAC Consulting, using the Gold Apollo name.
BAC’s address in Budapest is a small gated building.
Middle East latest: ‘Israel planted explosives in pagers’
The blasts were triggered by pagers like these
In a statement given to Sky News in Taiwan, Gold Apollo said: “Apollo Gold Corporation has established a long-term private label authorisation and regional agency cooperation with BAC.
“According to the agreement, we authorise BAC to use our brand trademark for production sales in specific regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are entirely handled by BAC.”
The remains of what is said to be one of the exploding pagers
Asked about the pagers and the explosions, the CEO of BAC Consulting Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono told Sky News: “I don’t make the pagers. I am just the intermediate. I think you got it wrong.”
A Sky News reporter in Budapest saw people arriving at the BAC Consulting property this morning who identified themselves as plain-clothes officers and asked not to be filmed.
Neighbours said they hadn’t seen anyone going in or out of the building for several weeks until today.
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Explosion at Lebanon market
Twelve people were killed and thousands seriously injured when pagers across Lebanon exploded on Tuesday.
Lebanon’s health minister said as many as 2,800 had been wounded. Some 300 people are in critical condition, with injuries to their eyes and face, while some have had body parts amputated.
A Lebanese security source has told the Reuters news agency that Israel’s Mossad spy agency planted a small amount of explosives inside thousands of pagers ordered by the militant group Hezbollah months before the explosions.
The senior source said the militant group had ordered 5,000 beepers which several other sources said were brought into Lebanon in the spring.
They claimed the devices had been modified by Israel’s spy service “at the production level”.
Another security source told Reuters up to 3g of explosives were hidden in the new pagers that went “undetected” by Hezbollah for months.
Lebanese officials laid the blame on “Israeli aggression”, while Hezbollah promised to retaliate, insisting Israel would receive “its fair punishment” for the blasts.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in a cross-border conflict since Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October – sparking the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza – fuelling fears of a wider war in the Middle East.
World
Explosive pagers used by Hezbollah had been modified by Israel ‘at production level’, Reuters told by Lebanese security sources
Israel’s Mossad spy agency planted a small amount of explosives inside thousands of pagers ordered by Hezbollah months before the devices exploded, a Lebanese security source has told the Reuters news agency.
The senior source said the militant group had ordered 5,000 beepers which several other sources said were brought into Lebanon in the spring.
The same source claimed that the devices had been modified by Israel’s spy service “at the production level”.
A second security source told Reuters that up to 3g of explosives were hidden in the new pagers that went “undetected” by Hezbollah for months.
The remains of what is claimed to be one of the exploding pagers
Middle East latest: ‘Israel planted explosives in pagers’
Details from the Reuters report are similar to one by the New York Times, which cited American and other officials.
Images of the destroyed devices analysed by Reuters showed a format and stickers that were consistent with the AR-924 model of pagers with Gold Apollo branding – a Taiwan-based company.
The firm’s founder Hsu Ching-Kuang said the devices were actually made under licence in Europe by a firm called BAC, using the Gold Apollo name.
In a statement given to Sky News in Taiwan, the company said: “Apollo Gold Corporation has established a long-term private label authorisation and regional agency cooperation with BAC.
“According to the agreement, we authorise BAC to use our brand trademark for production sales in specific regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are entirely handled by BAC.”
Apollo Gold declined to give further details of the European firm.
The model, like other pagers, wirelessly receives and displays text messages but cannot make telephone calls.
People gather outside American University of Beirut Medical Center. Pic: Reuters
Nine people were killed and thousands seriously injured in Tuesday’s explosions in different parts of Lebanon, the country’s health minister said.
Firas Abiad said 200 of the 2,750 wounded were in a critical condition.
Lebanese officials laid the blame on “Israeli aggression”, while Hezbollah promised to retaliate insisting Israel would receive “its fair punishment” for the blasts.
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‘Around 2,750’ injured in pager blasts
The Israeli military, which has been engaged in cross-border fighting with Hezbollah since the start of the war in Gaza in October last year, has refused to respond to questions about the detonations.
Experts broadly agree that the blasts do not look like a typical lithium battery fire.
Read more:
Pager explosions will sow chaos
How Israel is suspected of using technology
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Keren Elazari, a hacker and security researcher at Tel Aviv University, told Sky News: “There is no remote hacking capability that could generate that kind of kinetic explosion… some sort of a physical explosive component was probably part of the equation.”
Bomb disposal expert and former British army officer Chris Hunter added that his initial theory – based on injuries – suggests the blasts are “consistent with one to two ounces of high explosive”.
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Ambulances at scene of pagers explosion
“We’ve seen this sort of similar MO [particular method] with mobile devices before,” he said, pointing to the assassination of Hamas master bomb maker Yahya Ayyash whose mobile phone had been laced with a small amount of explosives.
Hezbollah fighters would have considered pagers a lo-fi, harder to infiltrate alternative to mobile phones, according to Sky News’s Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall.
It comes after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah previously warned the group’s members in February not to carry mobile phones because Israel could use them to track their movements.
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