The U.S. Secret Service said on Sunday its agents shot and killed a man in his 20s after he tried to unlawfully enter a secure perimeter at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump is currently in Washington.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, speaking at a brief press conference, said the man was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a sheriff's deputy.
“He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with them. At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position," Bradshaw said. The two agents and the deputy "fired their weapons to neutralize the threat.”
The FBI asked residents who live near Mar-a-Lago to check any security cameras they may have for footage that could help investigators.
The Associated Press, citing sources close to the investigation, identified the suspect as Austin Tucker Martin, 21, of North Carolina.
"U.S. Secret Service agents and a PBSO deputy confronted the individual and shots were fired by law enforcement during the encounter," the Secret Service said in an initial statement. "No U.S. Secret Service or PBSO personnel were injured."
The suspect was reported missing a few days ago by his family. Investigators believe he left North Carolina and headed south, picking up a shotgun along the way, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
The box for the gun was recovered in his vehicle, Guglielmi said.
The man drove through the north gate of Mar-a-Lago as another vehicle was exiting and was confronted by Secret Service agents, Guglielmi said. The agents confronted the armed man and he was fatally shot. Investigators are working to compile a psychological profile and a motive is still under investigation.
Trump has faced threats to his life before. He was wounded during an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024.
Then on Sept. 15, 2024, a man with a rifle was captured after waiting near Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach while the president played a round. He was sentenced to life in prison earlier this month.
The incident comes as the U.S. has been rocked multiple times in recent years by political violence. Just last year, that included the assassination of conservative leader Charlie Kirk, the assassination of the Democratic leader in the Minnesota state House and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife, and an arson attack at the official residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
The incursion Saturday at Trump’s Florida home is a few miles from his West Palm Beach golf club, where a man tried to assassinate Trump while he played golf during the 2024 election. A Secret Service agent spotted that man, Ryan Routh, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire and caused Routh to drop his weapon.
Routh was found guilty last year and sentenced this month to life in prison.
That incident came months after Trump survived the assassination attempt at the Pennsylvania campaign rally. That gunman had fired eight shots, with one bullet grazing Trump’s ear, before being shot by a Secret Service counter sniper.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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