联邦调查局称，特朗普在佛罗里达高尔夫俱乐部遭遇暗杀
【中美创新时报2024 年 9 月 15 日编译讯】（记者温友平编译）周日，唐纳德·特朗普在佛罗里达州西棕榈滩的高尔夫俱乐部遭遇“疑似暗杀”，就在九周前，这位共和党总统候选人又一次遭遇暗杀。这位前总统说他很安全，当局拘留了一名男子。美联社记者JILL CILVIN、COLLEEN LONG 和 LINDSAY WHITEHURST对此作了下述报道。
在距离特朗普比赛地点几处掩蔽处的美国特勤局特工发现，一支 AK 式步枪的枪口从球场两旁的灌木丛中伸出，距离大约 400 码。
棕榈滩县警长里克·布拉德肖说，一名特工开枪，枪手扔下步枪，乘坐一辆 SUV 逃走，留下了枪支、两个背包、一个瞄准镜和一台 GoPro 相机。该男子后来被执法部门拦下，并在邻县被拘留。
马丁县警长威廉·斯奈德说，他举止冷静、平淡，被拦下时几乎没有表情，也没有问为什么被拦下。
“他从来没有问过，‘这是怎么回事？’显然，执法人员带着长枪，戴着蓝灯，有很多事情要做。他从来没有质疑过，”斯奈德说。
这是竞选年中最新的令人震惊的时刻，今年的竞选活动充满了前所未有的动荡。 7 月 13 日，特朗普在宾夕法尼亚州巴特勒的集会上遭枪击，一颗子弹擦伤了他的耳朵。八天后，民主党总统乔·拜登退出竞选，让位给副总统卡马拉·哈里斯成为该党的候选人。
特勤局承认未能阻止今年夏天特朗普遇刺事件，这肯定会加剧人们对特勤局保护行动的质疑。
特朗普在给支持者的电子邮件中说：“我附近有枪声，但在谣言开始失控之前，我想先让你们听到这个：我很安全，很好！”他写道：“没有什么能阻止我。我永远不会投降！”
据一位熟悉特朗普行踪的人士称，他回到了他居住的棕榈滩的私人俱乐部海湖庄园，此人未获授权公开讨论此事，并要求匿名。
目前尚不清楚这起事件是否会影响他的竞选日程。他定于周一晚在社交媒体网站 X 上从佛罗里达州现场谈论加密货币，以推出他儿子的加密平台。他计划周二与前新闻秘书、阿肯色州州长萨拉·赫卡比·桑德斯一起在密歇根州弗林特举行市政厅会议，随后周三在纽约长岛举行集会。
美联社获得的一封发给特朗普竞选工作人员的电子邮件中写道：“这不是我们掉以轻心的事情。您的安全始终是我们的首要任务。我们要求您在日常来来往往中保持警惕。”
“随着我们进入特朗普总统竞选的最后 50 天，我们必须记住，我们只有团结一致，才能拯救美国，免受那些试图摧毁它的人的伤害。”
拜登和哈里斯听取了简报，并将随时了解调查的最新进展。白宫表示，他们“松了一口气”，知道特朗普安全了。
哈里斯在一份声明中还表示，“暴力在美国没有立足之地。”
事后，特朗普与盟友进行了交谈，包括竞选搭档俄亥俄州参议员 JD Vance、南卡罗来纳州参议员 Lindsey Graham 和几位福克斯新闻主持人。
福克斯新闻主持人肖恩·汉尼提在电视上讲述了他与特朗普和这位前总统的高尔夫球搭档史蒂夫·维特科夫的对话。
他们告诉汉尼提，他们当时正在第五洞，正准备推杆，突然听到“砰砰砰，砰砰砰”的声音。维特科夫回忆说，几秒钟之内，特勤局特工“扑向”特朗普，并“掩护他”以保护他。
特朗普本周末从西海岸的巡回赛返回佛罗里达，其中包括周五晚上在拉斯维加斯举行的集会和犹他州的筹款活动。他的竞选团队没有透露特朗普周日的任何公开计划。他经常在早上打高尔夫球，然后在俱乐部吃午饭，这是他在该州拥有的三个俱乐部之一。
自 7 月发生暗杀事件以来，他的安保措施得到了加强。当他在纽约的特朗普大厦时，停放的自卸卡车在大楼外形成了一堵墙。在户外集会上，他现在在防弹玻璃后面发表讲话。
特朗普打球时，佛罗里达高尔夫球场部分关闭，但球场周边的几个区域从围栏线就可以看到打高尔夫球的人。特朗普打球时，特勤局特工和乘坐高尔夫球车和全地形车的警员通常会在特朗普打球时前后几个洞的区域守卫好球场。特工们通常还会将装甲车开到球场上，以便在出现威胁时迅速为特朗普提供庇护。
棕榈滩县警长表示，如果特朗普是总统，整个高尔夫球场都会有执法人员站岗，但因为他不是总统，“安保人员仅限于特勤局认为可能的区域。”
“我可以想象，下次他来高尔夫球场时，球场周边可能会多一些人，”布拉德肖说。“但特勤局做了他们应该做的事情，他们提供了应有的保护，他们的特工做得非常出色。”
前总统及其配偶终身受到特勤局的保护，但前总统周围的安全保护因威胁程度和暴露程度而异，最严格的通常是在他们卸任后立即采取的。
由于特朗普的高知名度和他争取再次入主白宫的竞选活动，他的保护细节比其他一些前总统更高。
三名执法官员告诉美联社，被拘留的男子是瑞安·鲁斯。确定嫌疑人的官员不愿透露姓名，因为他们无权讨论正在进行的调查。
联邦调查局正在领导调查，并正在努力确定任何动机。司法部长梅里克·加兰德正在定期收到更新。酒精、烟草、火器和爆炸物管理局的特工正在协助调查。
该局表示：“联邦调查局已经对佛罗里达州西棕榈滩作出回应，并正在调查似乎是暗杀前总统特朗普的企图。”
周日，新闻记者没有和特朗普在一起。特朗普的竞选团队打破传统，没有安排记者随行，而这是各大政党候选人和总统的标准做法。哈里斯并非一直都有记者随行，但允许记者陪同她参加公开活动。
马丁县警长斯奈德表示，在联邦调查局、特勤局和棕榈滩县警长办公室发布“非常紧急的 BOLO”——即“警惕”警报后几分钟内，嫌疑人就被逮捕，警报详细说明了所寻找的具体车辆、车牌号和车主的描述。
斯奈德说，他的副手“立即涌入”95 号州际公路北行线，部署到南至棕榈滩县界和北至圣露西县界之间的每个出口。
“我的一个道路巡逻队看到了那辆车，匹配了车牌，然后我们就在车上设置了警戒，”斯奈德说，“我们抓住了那辆车，让它安全停下，并拘留了司机。”
Richer、Long、Tucker 和 Miller 在华盛顿报道。美联社记者 Lindsay Whitehurst 在华盛顿、Michael Balsamo、Jill Colvin、Michelle L. Price 和 Michael R. Sisak 在纽约、Meg Kinnard 在休斯顿对本报道亦有贡献。
题图：周日，一名警长封锁了佛罗里达州西棕榈滩特朗普国际高尔夫俱乐部外的街道。CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images
附原英文报道：
Trump was the subject of an apparent assassination attempt at his Florida golf club, the FBI says
By JILL CILVIN, COLLEEN LONG, and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press,Updated September 15, 2024
A sherrif blocked the street outside the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Sunday.CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Donald Trump was the target of what the FBI said “appears to be an attempted assassination” at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday, just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee survived another attempt on his life. The former president said he was safe and well, and authorities held a man in custody.
U.S. Secret Service agents posted a few holes up from where Trump was playing noticed the muzzle of an AK-style rifle sticking through the shrubbery that lines the course, roughly 400 yards away.
An agent fired and the gunman dropped the rifle and fled in an SUV, leaving the firearm behind along with two backpacks, a scope used for aiming and a GoPro camera, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said. The man was later stopped by law enforcement and taken into custody in a neighboring county.
He had a calm, flat demeanor and showed little emotion when he was stopped and didn’t question why he was pulled over, according Martin County Sheriff William Snyder.
“He never asked, ‘what is this about?’ Obviously, law enforcement with long rifles, blue lights, a lot going on. He never questioned it,” Snyder said.
It was the latest jarring moment in a campaign year marked by unprecedented upheaval. On July 13, Trump was shot during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear. Eight days later, Democratic President Joe Biden withdrew from the race, giving way for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the party’s nominee.
And it was sure to add to the questions about Secret Service protective operations after the agency’s admitted failures in preventing the attempted assassination of Trump this summer.
In an email to supporters, 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!” He wrote: “Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!”
He returned to Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Palm Beach where he lives, according to a person familiar with Trump’s movements who was not authorized to discuss them publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
It was not immediately clear whether the incident would affect his campaign schedule. He was set to speak from Florida about cryptocurrency live on Monday night on the social media site X for the launch of his sons’ crypto platform. He planned a town hall Tuesday in Flint, Michigan, with his former press secretary, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, followed by a rally Wednesday on New York’s Long Island.
An email to Trump campaign staffers obtained by AP said, “This is not a matter that we take lightly. Your safety is always our top priority. We ask that you remain vigilant in your daily comings and goings.”
“As we enter the last 50 days of President Trump’s campaign, we must remember that we will only be able save America from those who seek to destroy it by working together as one team.”
Biden and Harris were briefed and would be kept updated on the investigation. The White House said they were “relieved” to know Trump is safe.
Harris, in a statement, also said “violence has no place in America.”
In the aftermath, Trump checked in with allies, including running mate Ohio Sen. JD Vance, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and several Fox News hosts.
Fox News host Sean Hannity recounted on air his conversation with Trump and the former president’s golf partner, Steve Witkoff.
They told Hannity they had been on the fifth hole and about to go up to putt when they heard a “pop pop, pop pop.” Within seconds, he said Witkoff recounted, Secret Service agents “pounced on” Trump and “covered him” to protect him.
Trump had returned to Florida this weekend from a West Coast swing that included a Friday night rally in Las Vegas and a Utah fundraiser. His campaign had not advised about any public plans for Trump on Sunday. He often spends the morning playing golf, before having lunch at the club, one of three he owns in the state.
He has had a stepped-up security footprint since the assassination attempt in July. When he has been at Trump Tower in New York, parked dump trucks have formed a wall outside the building. At outdoor rallies, he now speaks from behind an enclosure of bulletproof glass.
The Florida golf course was partially shut down for Trump as he played, but there are several areas around the perimeter of the property where golfers are visible from the fence line. Secret Service agents and officers in golf carts and on ATVs generally secure the area several holes ahead and behind Trump when he plays. Agents also usually bring an armored vehicle onto the course to shelter Trump quickly should a threat arise.
The Palm Beach County sheriff said the entire golf course would have been lined with law enforcement if Trump were the president, but because he is not, “security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible.”
“I would imagine that the next time he comes to the golf course, there will probably be a little more people around the perimeter,” Bradshaw said. “But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done, they provided exactly what the protection should have been and their agent did a fantastic job.”
Former presidents and their spouses have Secret Service protection for life, but the security around former presidents varies according to threat levels and exposure, with the toughest typically being in the immediate aftermath of their leaving office.
Trump’s protective detail has been higher than some other former presidents because of his high visibility and his campaign to seek the White House again.
The man in custody was Ryan Routh, three law enforcement officials told the AP. The officials who identified the suspect spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
The FBI was leading the investigation and was working to determine any motive. Attorney General Merrick Garland was receiving regular updates. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were helping investigate.
“The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,” the bureau said.
News reporters were not with Trump on Sunday. Bucking tradition, Trump’s campaign has not arranged to have a protective pool of reporters travel with him, as is standard for major party nominees and for the president. Harris does not have a protective pool at all times, but does allow reporters to travel with her for public events.
Snyder, the Martin County sheriff, said the suspect was apprehended within minutes of the FBI, Secret Service and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office putting out a “very urgent BOLO” — or “be on the lookout” alert detailing the specific vehicle sought, license plate number and description of the occupant.
Snyder said his deputies “immediately flooded” northbound I-95, deploying to every exit between the Palm Beach County line to the south and St. Lucie County line to the north.
“One of my road patrol units saw the vehicle, matched the tag and we set up on the vehicle,” Snyder said, “We pinched in on the car, got it safely stopped and got the driver in custody.”
Richer, Long, Tucker and Miller reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington, Michael Balsamo, Jill Colvin, Michelle L. Price and Michael R. Sisak in New York, and Meg Kinnard in Houston contributed to this report.
