The United States Secret Service said its agents and a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy fatally shot a man after he attempted to unlawfully enter a secure perimeter at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
The shooting happened around 1:30 a.m. Sunday. In an email to Straight Arrow News, the FBI confirmed that the man killed was Austin Tucker Martin, 21, of Moore County, North Carolina.
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Secret Service chief of communications Anthony Guglielmi said Martin was apprehended by Mar-a-Lago’s north gate carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can.
At a press conference, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the Secret Service and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy confronted Martin, and they ordered him to put the weapon and fuel can down.
When Martin put down the can, “he raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said. At that point, the Secret Service agents and deputy “fired their weapons to neutralize the threat.”
Trump was not in Florida at the time of the shooting, and was in Washington Sunday.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency is dedicating all necessary resources to the investigation. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi spoke to Trump, she said on X, and is also coordinating with federal partners.
“In the middle of the night while most Americans were asleep, the United States 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,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on X. “Federal law enforcement are working 24/7 to keep our country safe and protect all Americans.”
Leavitt noted that the Department of Homeland Security is currently experiencing a shutdown.
Martin had been reported missing in North Carolina, according to the Moore County Sheriff’s Office. He was entered into a national missing person database, and federal authorities told the Moore County Sheriff’s Office they were conducting an active investigation in Florida about Martin.
Vehicles blocked the entrance to a property listed in public records as Martin’s address, The Associated Press reported.
Sunday’s shooting happened only a few miles from where Ryan Routh tried to assassinate Trump while the president played golf at his West Palm Beach club, the AP noted. Routh was convicted and sentenced to life in prison earlier this month.
Another attempt on Trump’s life was made in July 2024 during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. One man, Corey Comperatore, was killed while trying to protect his family.
