The US Secret Service shot and killed an armed intruder who breached the perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s Florida residence and private club in Palm Beach, early on Sunday. The incident occurred at around 1.30am ET when security personnel alerted authorities to a person within an inner perimeter.
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of Palm Beach County said two Secret Service agents and a deputy confronted a white male in his early 20s carrying a shotgun and a gasoline can. The man 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 suspect died at the scene.
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were not present at Mar-a-Lago during the incident, remaining at the White House in Washington. The intruder was later identified by investigators as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin, according to the Associated Press, citing a source familiar with the matter.
The Secret Service confirmed the suspect was from North Carolina and had been reported missing by his family a few days earlier. A spokesman said investigators believe he drove south, acquiring a shotgun along the way, and entered the property through the north gate as another vehicle was exiting. The box for the gun was recovered from his vehicle.
The FBI’s evidence response team is processing the scene and working to compile a psychological profile and uncover a motive. Residents near the resort have been asked to check exterior cameras for any suspicious activity from Saturday night or early Sunday.
The incident echoes a 2019 security breach at Mar-a-Lago when a Chinese woman gained access to the main lobby, and follows two security scares in 2024: an assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania in July, and a man with a rifle captured near his golf course in West Palm Beach in September.
