The U.S. Secret Service said Sunday that a man armed with "what appeared to be a shotgun and fuel can" was shot and killed after entering the secure perimeter of President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
According to The Associated Press, the man killed was identified by investigators as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin. He was from North Carolina.
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According to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, the incident occurred around 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning when the security detail detected that an individual had made it into the inner perimeter at Mar-a-Lago. A deputy and two Secret Service agents on the detail went to that area to investigate. They confronted a white male carrying a gas can and a shotgun near the front gate on the north side of Mar-a-Lago, just inside the inner perimeter.
"He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment," Bradshaw said. "He put down the gas can and raised the shotgun to a shooting position."
At that time, the deputy and the two secret service members fired their weapons and neutralized the threat. FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Miami field office, Brett Skiles, said authorities are currently processing the scene and collecting evidence. He asked residents in the area of the shooting to check their security cameras and report any suspicious findings to the FBI.
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"Nobody was in jeopardy inside because of the quick action taken by authorities," Bradshaw said.
When asked if any authorities were wearing body cameras, Bradshaw said, "Yes, we always do."
The only words said to the suspect were "drop the items," according to Bradshaw. Officials do not know at this time how many shots were fired or if the suspect's gun was loaded.
While President Trump often spends weekends at his Florida resort, he was at the White House in Washington, D.C., at the time of the incident. In a post on social media, FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency is "dedicating all necessary resources" for the investigation.
FBI is dedicating all necessary resources in the investigation of this morning’s incident at President Trump’s Mar-A-Lago - where an armed individual was shot and killed after unlawfully entering the perimeter. We will continue working closely with @SecretService as well our…
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) February 22, 2026
