MIAMI, May 18 — A man railing against US President Donald Trump opened fire in one of the Republican’s Florida golf resorts early today, exchanging gunshots with Miami police who wounded and arrested him, officials said.
Neither Trump nor any of his immediate family members were at the Trump National Doral Golf Club at the time, according to the Secret Service. The golf club is located about 70 miles south of the Palm Beach resort that Trump has visited regularly during his term.
The man “was trying to lure our officers... into this gunfight. He did succeed, and he did lose. That’s the bottom line,” Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez said at a news briefing, adding it was not clear what motivated his actions.
The man lowered a flag that was flying outside the Miami-area club, went into the lobby at about 1:30 am EDT (0530 GMT) and draped it over the counter. He then pointed a gun at people in the lobby, fired at the ceiling and a chandelier and waited to attack responding police, Perez said.
The gunman, identified as Jonathan Oddi, 42, of Doral, was shouting anti-Trump remarks during the incident, Perez said. He said he did not know specifically what Oddi had said.
Police shot Oddi multiple times in the legs and took him into custody, and he was in hospital in stable condition.
On social media pages that appeared to be created by Oddi, he described himself as the owner of a gemstone company and a real estate investor, and mentions being a volunteer Santa Claus at a Miami hospital in 2013.
The US Secret Service, which protects the president and his family, said in a statement that no one under its protection was in the Miami area at the time. The agency does not protect the club, but is working with police who are investigating the shooting, it said.
A Doral police officer suffered a broken arm that was not related to gunfire. Police have not said what kind of weapon the suspect had.
Authorities are trying to find out how Oddi gained entry to the 800-acre (323-hectare) Doral golf club in the early morning hours.
Perez said police had sealed off Oddi’s home and were waiting for a warrant to search it.
Trump National Doral Golf Club is home to four championship golf courses. Trump bought the property for US$150 million (RM596.7 million) in 2012. — Reuters
