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, early on Sunday. The suspect, a white male in his early 20s, was carrying a shotgun and a gasoline can when he entered the property through the north gate.
According to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, two Secret Service agents and a deputy confronted the man just inside the main entrance gate. When ordered to drop his weapons, he put down the gas can but raised the shotgun into a shooting position. The three officers fired their weapons, fatally wounding the suspect. None of the officers were injured.
The suspect has been identified by investigators as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin, from North Carolina, who had been reported missing by his family a few days earlier. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said investigators believe he left North Carolina and picked up a shotgun along the way. The box for the gun was found in his vehicle.
President Trump was not present at Mar-a-Lago during the incident; he was at the White House in Washington. The FBI's evidence response team is processing the scene, and a psychological profile is being compiled to determine a motive. Residents near the resort have been asked to check exterior cameras for any suspicious activity.
The incident follows previous security breaches at the property, including a 2019 case where a Chinese woman evaded security to reach the main lobby. It also comes after an assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, and a separate incident in September 2024 where an armed man was apprehended near Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach.
