The US Secret Service shot and killed an armed man who breached the perimeter of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, early on Sunday. The incident occurred at around 1.30am ET when security personnel confronted a white male in his early 20s carrying a shotgun and a gasoline can.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the suspect was ordered to drop the items but instead raised the shotgun to a shooting position. Two Secret Service agents and a deputy fired their weapons, neutralising the threat. The man died at the scene. No law enforcement officers were injured.
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, picking up the shotgun along the way. The box for the gun was found in his vehicle.
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were not at Mar-a-Lago at the time; they were at the White House in Washington. The breach occurred at the north gate, which leads directly to the main building's entrance lobby. The Trump family's private quarters are in a separate building.
The FBI is processing the scene and collecting evidence. Investigators are working to compile a psychological profile and uncover a motive. Residents near the estate have been asked to check exterior cameras for any suspicious footage from Saturday night or early Sunday.
This incident follows a 2024 assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania and another security scare at his golf course in West Palm Beach in September of the same year.
