Student confesses to throwing wooden block at Trump’s motorcade, authorities say

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A Florida middle school student has confessed to throwing a “2×4″ block of wood at President Donald Trump’s motorcade on Friday, not far from the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate, authorities said.

Just before 2 p.m. Friday, as the caravan was passing through West Palm Beach, one vehicle in the motorcade was struck by “what was believed to be a small hard object,” the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Saturday.

After completing the trip, “several members of the motorcade returned to the scene and began canvassing the area looking for witnesses and any small hard objects along the roadway in that area,” the sheriff’s office said.

During the investigation, a student from a local middle school admitted to throwing the object at the motorcade; the student also implicated four other students, authorities said.

Photo Courtesy Palm Beach County SO
Photo Courtesy Palm Beach County SO

Along with its statement, the sheriff’s office posted a picture of the object: a small block of wood.

A map of the area where the incident occurred – on Southern Boulevard between Parker and Lake avenues – shows that it is a major thoroughfare lined with gas stations and strip malls. A middle school campus is a block from the area, though it is unclear whether any of the students allegedly involved were from that school.

A Secret Service spokeswoman confirmed to The Washington Post on Sunday that one vehicle was struck as the motorcade made its way from the airport to Mar-a-Lago but could not give further details because the incident was still under investigation. There were no injuries or major damage to the vehicles, she said.

The sheriff’s office declined to give additional details on Sunday morning.

CNN reported that Secret Service agents requested surveillance video from stores along the intersections and that a group of protesters had been in the area when the incident occurred.

Charges will be filed with the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office, authorities said.

Trump has returned to Mar-a-Lago numerous times since being elected president. On Saturday, he held a campaign-style rally in Melbourne, Florida, about 115 miles north of Palm Beach.

(c) 2017, The Washington Post · Amy B Wang

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