By Jasper Ward and Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON, Feb 22 (Reuters) – U.S. Secret Service and local police shot and killed a man armed with a shotgun early on Sunday after he breached a secure perimeter at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, law enforcement officials said.
Trump, who is currently in Washington, was not at the site at the time. The man in Sunday’s incident was identified as Austin Tucker Martin, 21, from North Carolina, according to a source familiar with the investigation. Martin was reported missing within the last few days, according to the source.
The incident occurred at a time when the United States is facing a spike in political violence. In 2024, a gunman’s bullet grazed Trump’s ear during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, and a man later convicted of attempted assassination was spotted hiding in the bushes of a Florida golf course with a semi-automatic rifle while Trump was on the course.
‘A CRAZY PERSON,’ WHITE HOUSE SAYS
The man was carrying a shotgun and a fuel can, the U.S. Secret Service said in a statement, adding that he was observed at the resort’s north gate around 1:30 a.m. EST (0630 GMT).
Two U.S. Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy confronted the man and ordered him to drop the two items, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a press conference on Sunday morning.
The man put down the gas can and raised the shotgun “to a shooting position,” prompting law enforcement to open fire, Bradshaw said.
The man was declared dead at the scene. No law enforcement officers were injured.
White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the Secret Service “acted quickly and decisively to neutralize a crazy person, armed with a gun and a gas canister, who intruded President Trump’s home.”
FBI HEADS INVESTIGATION
Law enforcement officials did not reveal any information about the motive for the incident. The FBI has taken over the investigation and is collecting evidence from the scene, officials said.
FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post that the agency is “dedicating all necessary resources” to the investigation.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he spoke with Trump after the incident. Bessent thanked the Secret Service for protecting the president and his family.
“We don’t know whether this person was a mastermind, unhinged or what,” Bessent said on the Fox News program “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.”
In 2024, Trump faced two assassination attempts, including one at his golf course in West Palm Beach. The perpetrator of that incident was sentenced to life in prison this month.
Melissa Hortman, a Democratic state lawmaker in Minnesota, was shot and killed in June 2025 along with her husband. Months later, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was also assassinated.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; additional reporting by Andrea Shalal; writing by Andrew Goudsward; editing by Michelle Nichols and Chizu Nomiyama)
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