'Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!': Trump reacts to 2nd shooting attempt

WASHINGTON (TND) — Former President Donald Trump assured his supporters he is "safe and well" after shots rang out while he was golfing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach in Florida on Sunday afternoon.

"Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER!" he wrote in an email his campaign sent to donors shortly after the incident.

"I will always love you for supporting me," he added. "Unity. Peace. Make America Great Again," he added.

Trump was not hurt in the incident, according to officials.

Authorities said a quick-thinking good Samaritan helped authorities track down a suspect who made "an apparent assassination attempt" on Trump around 1:30 p.m.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said an unidentified witness told law enforcement agents he spotted a person "running out of the bushes" before jumping into a black Nissan SUV. The witness then snapped a picture of the SUV and shared it with authorities.

“Fortunately, we were able to locate a witness that came to us and said, 'Hey, I saw the guy running out of the bushes. He jumped into a black Nissan, and I took a picture of the vehicle and the tag,’” Bradshaw said during a news conference.

The suspect was identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, three law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.

Bradshaw, who praised the good Samaritan, said a Secret Service agent was patrolling the grounds at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach around 1:30 p.m. That's when the agent spotted a rifle barrel coming out of a fence surrounding the course and took action.

"He immediately engaged that individual, at which time the individual took off," Bradshaw said, noting that agents fired multiple rounds at the suspect.

A Secret Service official who also spoke at the news briefing said it wasn't immediately known if the suspect also fired at the agents.

Bradshaw said authorities quickly found the suspect driving on Interstate 95. He said investigators took the witness to the suspect and an affirmative ID was made. The suspect was then detained and taken into custody.

Bradshaw said they later found an AK-style rifle with a scope in the bushes, along with two backpacks hanging on fence containing ceramic tile and a GoPro camera. He said the suspect apparently wanted to film “what was going on.”

Trump was not harmed, and no injuries were reported. Authorities are working to determine a motive.

The attempted assassination comes roughly two months after Trump was shot in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania.

During the shooting, 50-year-old retired fire chief Corey Comperatore was hit by a bullet while shielding his wife and daughter. He was later pronounced dead, authorities said.

Police said two other people were also seriously hurt. The suspected shooter, who authorities identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was shot and killed at the scene by a Secret Service counter sniper.

As for Sunday's incident, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is leading the investigation and was working to determine a motive.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, said the state will be conducting its own investigation into the the attempted assassination.

"The people deserve the truth about the would be assassin and how he was able to get within 500 yards of the former president and current GOP nominee," the governor wrote on X.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: The National Desk's Cory Smith contributed to this report.