An armed man was shot dead after breaching the perimeter of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, the latest in a series of security incidents involving the former president.
PALM BEACH: US Secret Service agents shot and killed an armed man who breached the security perimeter of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida early on Sunday morning.
The incident occurred around 1.30am local time while Trump was in Washington, DC, officials confirmed.
The suspect, identified by Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin from North Carolina, was spotted at the north gate carrying a shotgun and a fuel can.
Agents confronted the man and ordered him to disarm. “The only words that we said to him was ‘drop the items’,” Sheriff Bradshaw told reporters.
Martin put down the fuel can but then raised the shotgun to a firing position. A deputy and two Secret Service agents then opened fire, fatally wounding him.
No law enforcement officers were injured in the exchange, and the Secret Service stated no one under its protection was present at the estate at the time.
Martin was reportedly an illustrator of landscapes and golf courses. The Miami Herald reported he had an older sister who died three years ago at the age of 21.
The shooting is the latest in a series of security incidents targeting Trump. Earlier this month, Ryan Routh, 59, was sentenced to life in prison for plotting to assassinate Trump at a Florida golf course in September 2024.
That planned attack came two months after a separate assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally, where a gunman grazed Trump’s ear before being killed by security.
Political violence has escalated across a deeply polarised United States. In September last year, right-wing influencer and Trump ally Charlie Kirk was shot dead at a university event in Utah.
In June, a masked shooter killed Minnesota Democratic lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband at their home. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro also survived an alleged assassination attempt in April when his home was set alight.
The Secret Service is responsible for protecting current and former presidents, their families, major election candidates, and visiting foreign heads of state.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blamed Democrats for an ongoing partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service.
Democrats oppose new funding for the department until the Trump administration implements major changes to its large-scale deportation campaign.
