The US Secret Service shot and killed an armed intruder who breached the perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump's Florida residence, early on Sunday. The incident occurred at about 1:30am ET when security personnel alerted officers to a person within an inner perimeter of the property.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said two Secret Service agents and a deputy confronted a white male carrying a shotgun and a gasoline can at the north gate. The suspect was ordered to drop the items but instead raised the shotgun to a shooting position, prompting the officers to fire and neutralise the threat. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect was later identified by investigators as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin from North Carolina, according to the Associated Press. A Secret Service spokesman said Martin had been reported missing by his family a few days earlier and is believed to have driven south, acquiring a shotgun along the way. The box for the gun was found in his vehicle.
President Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago at the time; he was at the White House in Washington. The FBI is processing the scene and working to compile a psychological profile and determine a motive. Residents near the resort have been asked to check exterior cameras for suspicious activity.
