Former FBI acting section chief Ren McEachern said Sunday on Newsmax that the shooting of an armed suspect at Mar-a-Lago highlights ongoing security threats facing President Donald Trump and the need for a thorough investigation, including the potential for foreign links.
"This is a scary situation, and I'm glad it resolved the way it did," McEachern said on Newsmax's "Sunday Report."
Authorities said a man in his 20s, armed with what appeared to be a pump shotgun and carrying gasoline, was shot by Secret Service agents and a sheriff's deputy after refusing commands to drop the weapon.
Trump was not on the property at the time.
McEachern noted that this incident marks the third serious attempt targeting the president.
"We've seen now three serious attempts on the president. We've never seen anything quite like this," he said.
He described the weapon shown in early images as "a pump shotgun" and said it did not appear tactically sophisticated.
"I don't get the impression that this guy is necessarily professional," McEachern said. "That shotgun would not be tactically that great. Maybe five to six shots. It's a pump action. Not very effective if you're up against any serious security like you would have at Mar-a-Lago."
He said investigators will now focus on the suspect's background and possible associates.
"Lots to look at. But the investigation is really just beginning. Who did he work with? Where did the gun come from?" McEachern said.
McEachern also pointed to the broader political climate, including tensions with Iran, as a factor investigators must assess.
"You always have to look at the geopolitical nature of what's occurring at that time," he said, referencing heightened tensions in the Middle East and Trump's posture toward Iran.
He cautioned, however, that state-sponsored plots typically involve more sophisticated planning.
"If you look at a state-sponsored assassination attempt, generally you think of somebody much more organized, much more capable than this person who seems right now an amateur," he said.
McEachern emphasized that intelligence agencies routinely monitor threats.
"Secret Service, along with the intelligence community, along with the FBI, and working with our foreign counterparts around intelligence, are constantly looking at this type of chatter about talks of assassination attempts against President Trump," he said.
He said more details are likely to emerge quickly as investigators examine the suspect's digital and social media footprint.
"We'll know a lot more, not in weeks, but in days, I would imagine," McEachern said.
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