A friend of Donald Trump who was golfing with the former president during the recent assassination attempt has given new details about the incident, describing how quickly the Secret Service acted to protect Trump.

Steve Witkoff, a New York real estate investor, told Fox News‘ Sean Hannity how in the face of danger, agents opened fire on the suspected gunman at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday. “It was pretty awesome to watch them, and they were heroic, because their lives were on the line, they were exposed,” Witkoff said.

The Secret Service faced major criticism for the security failure that resulted in a previous attempt on Trump’s life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to make his way onto a nearby roof armed with an AR-15-style rifle to fire at Trump, leaving him with minor injuries and one supporter of the former president dead.

On Sunday, the suspect did not fire at the former president while hiding in wooded areas in the perimeter of the golf course. Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was charged Monday with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and having a firearm with an obliterated serial number. He is due to make another court appearance on September 23.

Speaking to Hannity, Witkoff said that he “immediately” knew that shots had been fired as he is a gun owner himself and praised the “exceptional” work of the Secret Service in protecting Trump, who was unarmed.

“They had the president secured, in my estimation, because I was five yards away from him, maybe after the first shot, certainly after the second shot,” Witkoff said.

“So by the time the fourth shot rang out, the president was on his way with that detail. It was as if they had practiced it 500 times before.”

He went on to further praise the actions of the Secret Service after they engaged with the suspect at the Florida golf course.

“They put themselves between that shooter and the president and there’s no mistaking that,” Witkoff said. “I watched it all happen.”

The Secret Service has been contacted for comment.

The FBI confirmed it is investigating the incident as an apparent assassination attempt on Trump.

Mobile phone records indicate that Routh had positioned himself in the wooded area on the edge of the golf course for 12 hours before he was spotted by the Secret Service, according to court papers.

A criminal complaint released by the Department of Justice said that a Secret Service agent scanning the area ahead of where Trump was playing golf saw a rifle poking out of the course’s tree line.

After the agent opened fire, Routh fled the scene leaving behind a digital camera, a backpack, a loaded SKS-style rifle with a scope and a bag containing food.

Routh was later detained by local police while driving northbound on the I-95 in a black Nissan around 45 minutes after he fled the golf course. Officials said Routh was aware why he was being detained.

“Routh was asked if he knew why he was being stopped,” the complaint said. “He responded in the affirmative.”