Former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt Sunday when a Secret Service agent at his West Palm Beach golf course opened fire on a man armed with an AK-47-style rifle. It is the second attempt on Trump’s life in little more than two months.

As the Republican presidential nominee walked the course, the suspect hid in shrubbery just 300-500 yards away when the Secret Service agent opened fire, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. The suspect carried two backpacks as well as a GoPro camera. His rifle had a scope.

“With a rifle like that with a scope,” the sheriff said at a press conference, “that’s not a long distance.”

Sunday afternoon, the FBI confirmed that they are investigating the incident as an assassination attempt. “The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump,” the agency said in a statement.

The Secret Service agent fired four shots, but law enforcement was unsure if the individual fired his rifle. He retreated to a parked car along the road, where, according to Bradshaw, a witness took pictures of both the suspect and the vehicle. The failed assassin was later taken into custody.

The incident took place around 1:30 p.m., according to law enforcement, and the Trump-Vance campaign announced the news shortly thereafter. “President Trump is safe following gunshots in his vicinity,” Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. “No further details at this time.”

“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,” Trump wrote in a fundraising email that was sent Sunday afternoon.

Secret Service sources tell RealClearPolitics that the two backpacks the gunman carried and attached to a chain link fence were filled with ceramic tile to shield the shooter from return fire. “Soft body armor like what we wear, and police wear, can only stop pistol rounds,” the source said. “In order to stop rifle rounds, which travel MUCH faster, you need rifle plates like the military wear or SWAT teams wear.”

“I believe that the suspect hanging 2 backpacks on the fence filled with ceramic tile was his attempt to provide himself a somewhat protected firing position,” the source added.

The golf course was partially shut down as Trump played through on Sunday. A Secret Service detail was with the former president and also a couple of holes ahead of him, according to Bradshaw, when an agent spotted a “rifle barrel sticking out of the fence.” The campaign had not made the Republican nominee’s schedule public after a West Coast swing that culminated in Las Vegas the night before, though Trump is known to frequent the golf course.

Trump travels with security as both a former president and a current presidential candidate. After the attempt on his life in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July, he has received additional resources. “He is not the sitting president,” Bradshaw said. “If he was, we would have this entire golf course surrounded.”

Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance said in a statement Sunday afternoon that he had spoken with Trump before the news was made public and that his running mate “was, amazingly, in good spirits.” The White House was also alerted of the attempt on Trump’s life. An administration spokesman said that both President Biden and Vice President Harris were briefed on the incident shortly after it occurred.

“I have been briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida,” Harris said in a statement posted to social media, “and I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.”

When Trump and Harris shared a stage at the Philadelphia debate last week, the former president laid the blame for the first assassination attempt at the feet of Democrats.

“I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things that they say about me. They talk about democracy. I’m a threat to democracy. They’re the threat to democracy,” Trump said, “with the fake Russia-Russia-Russia investigation that went nowhere.”

While Bradshaw was quick to praise the agent who engaged with the failed assassin, the Secret Service has been under harsh scrutiny from lawmakers on Capitol Hill since the Pennsylvania shooting and after details of an Iranian plot on Trump’s life came to light. Secret Service leaders have placed several members of the Pittsburgh Field Office on administrative leave since then.

Philip Wegmann is White House correspondent for RealClearPolitics.

Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics’ national political correspondent.