Retired FBI Agent Nelson Barbosa said former President Donald Trump is lucky to be alive after another apparent assassination attempt at his golf club in West Palm Beach Sunday.
The attempt comes just nine weeks after the Republican presidential nominee survived was shot during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and a bullet grazed his ear.
Watch NBC6 free wherever you are
>
WATCH HEREThe former president said he was safe and well, and authorities held a man in custody.
"The threat is very serious and we have to take it very serious," Barbosa told NBC6. "In this case the shooter most likely was waiting for a clear shot at the president, so if he did not have it yet, he wasn't able to shoot it, but if he would have had that clear shot with the scope and everything he would have been able to shoot the president and this would be a completely different story."
Get local news you need to know to start your day with NBC 6's News Headlines newsletter.
>
SIGN UP
Barbosa retired from the Miami field office and he believes the attempt on the former president's life on Sunday was a serious security breach.
U.S. Secret Service agents stationed 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 in a neighboring county.
Local
"I would love to know what the motive is and what enticed him to not only be in that area where the president was playing golf, but was he controlled by anyone, was he told ahead of time where the president was going to be and who would have provided that information to him," Barbosa said.
Since the attempt, Florida lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed their concern over the former president and condemned the violence.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wants to get down to the details and announced in a post on X Sunday that the state is conducting its own investigation.
Sen. Rick Scott said he's reached out to Trump and said the vile rhetoric toward him is dangerous and must stop.
And in a post on X, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said she's horrified to hear about the attempted attack and grateful Trump was unharmed.
"It should have been a higher level of perimeter security especially when it comes to really anyone that is running to become president or even vice president position," Barbosa said.
As for next steps in the investigation, Barbosa said he expects search warrants will be served and there will be a focus on the motive.
Barbosa told NBC6 the FBI currently has a lot of helpful evidence in this case.
