A woman was arrested after she breached two security checkpoints at President Trump’s Palm Beach resort, forcing law enforcement to open fire on the vehicle she was driving.
A police officer first approached the suspect, a white female, late Friday morning when they noticed she was “doing some kind of dance on her car,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters during a news conference.
Police identified the woman as 30-year-old Hannah Roemhild, who has no discernible criminal history.
“This is not a terrorist thing. This is obviously someone who was impaired somehow,” Bradshaw said.
When an officer approached the black SUV to get the woman’s attention, she tried to put the vehicle in reverse. The officer then smashed the window to try and gain control of the vehicle, but she was able to flee the scene.
Police said Roemhild drove the rental vehicle toward Mar-a-Lago as she fled and crashed through two checkpoints on the perimeter of the resort. Authorities said they did not know whether the woman, who was driving erratically at high speeds of up to 70 miles per hour, had a bomb in the vehicle or was targeting pedestrians. Secret Service then opened fire on the SUV, but the woman was able to flee the scene.
Roemhild, who police said had a Connecticut driver’s license, was later found at a hotel room, where she was tackled and arrested by police.
A second woman was originally reported to be in the vehicle but police said they believe Roemhild picked up the second woman after she fled the perimeter of Mar-a-Lago.
No one was injured in the incident, police said. Photographs of the vehicle driven by the suspects show the windshield riddled with bullet holes.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump were scheduled to be at the property later in the day Friday. Authorities said no Secret Service protectees were in Palm Beach at the time of the incident.
