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A potential third assassination attempt targeting former President Donald Trump was stopped outside his rally at Coachella Valley on Saturday (October 12), Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco confirmed to the New York Post on Sunday (October 13).
A man armed with guns and fake passes was detained about a mile away from the event. The suspect reportedly had a loaded shotgun, handgun and high capacity magazine at the time he was stopped by police.
“We probably stopped another assassination attempt,” Bianco said via the New York Post.
Trump previously survived two assassination attempts within a two-month span.
A Secret Service agent reportedly opened fire on a man spotted with an AK-47 assault rifle while Trump was playing golf at his West Palm Beach course in September. Ryan Routh was arrested that same day and charged two days later with attempted assassination of a presidential candidate, added to previous charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.
Trump's right ear was grazed during the shooting and he was seen yelling "fight" to his supporters while being evacuated from the rally by Secret Service members during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. One spectator, identified as Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed during the incident while two others, David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, and James Copenhaver, 74, were initially critically wounded but later upgraded to stable condition.
The shooter, Thomas Crooks, was taken out by Secret Service agents within seconds from opening fire, though also reported to be on officials' radar as a suspicious person more than 90 minutes before opening fire. Trump officially accepted the Republican presidential nomination during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, days after the initial assassination attempt.