Armed Man Shot and Killed by Secret Service Outside Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

An armed man was shot and killed outside of President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club early Sunday morning after approaching a restricted area with a firearm and what appeared to be a fuel can, according to the Secret Service. Mr. Trump was in Washington at the time of the incident. The presidential protective service says it is not releasing the individual’s name at this time. His next of kin must be notified of his death first, the Secret Service says. “On February 22, around 1:30 a.m., a male in his early 20s was shot by U.S. Secret Service agents and a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) following an unauthorized entry into the secure perimeter at Mar-a-Lago. The individual, whose identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was pronounced deceased,” the agency said in a statement on Sunday. “The individual was observed by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago property carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can,” the Secret Service said.Law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that the man killed was identified as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina. The man is not accused of firing shots at agents, according to the statement. The agency says neither any Secret Service agents nor the sheriff’s deputy were injured during the altercation. “The incident, including the individual’s background, actions, potential motive, and the use of force, is under investigation by the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office,” the Secret Service says. The agents involved will be put on administrative leave, which is standard procedure for these kinds of incidents, according to the Secret Service.At a press conference on Sunday morning, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said that the man raised his firearm at law enforcement officers after being told to put the weapon down, which ultimately led agents to fire on him. “He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with them. At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Mr. Bradshaw said Sunday morning. Mr. Trump in recent years has experienced an unusually high number of close calls with would-be killers. In 2024, he was famously shot during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, though the shooter only grazed his ear. Weeks later, another man was caught at a Florida golf club where Mr. Trump had been playing a round, waiting for him to approach. Before Mr. Trump got near the would-be killer, an agent spotted a rifle and foiled the plan. Security for lawmakers and executive branch officials alike has become a serious issue in just the last 18 months, with the attempted killings of Mr. Trump, the assassination of Charlie Kirk, the killing of a former Minnesota house of representatives speaker and her husband, and a significant increase in threats to members of Congress. Just last week, a young man was arrested outside of the U.S. Capitol after he ran toward the building holding a shotgun. Lawmakers were not present at the time of the incident. “Just last summer, we held an active threat exercise on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol — in the very location where today’s officers stopped the suspect,” the chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, Michael Sullivan, said in a statement after the 18-year-old man was arrested. “These now routine exercises are planned monthly and in different areas of the Capitol Complex to keep our officers ready for potential threats just like this.” Police have not yet disclosed a potential motive for the incident. The U.S. Capitol Police last month released their annual statistics for threats issued in the previous year. In 2025, the number of “concerning statements, behaviors, and communications directed against Members of Congress, their families, staff, and the Capitol Complex” increased more than 57 percent compared to 2024.

Armed Man Shot and Killed by Secret Service Outside Trump’s Mar-a-Lago

More from the New York Sun

Air Travelers at Mercy of Homeland Security Department After Suspension of Two Security Screening Programs

Putin’s ‘Hidden War’ Against Europe Underscores Dictatorships’ Rising Threat to the West

Treating 6-Year-Olds Like Infants Makes Children’s — and Parents’ — Lives Smaller

More from the New York Sun

Air Travelers at Mercy of Homeland Security Department After Suspension of Two Security Screening Programs

Putin’s ‘Hidden War’ Against Europe Underscores Dictatorships’ Rising Threat to the West

Treating 6-Year-Olds Like Infants Makes Children’s — and Parents’ — Lives Smaller

Death of French Rightist in Street Brawl Sparks Nation’s ‘Charlie Kirk Moment’

‘Effective Immediately’: Trump Raises Global Tariffs to 15 Percent Following Supreme Court Ruling

‘Hatred’ of Elon Musk Makes Jury Selection a Nightmare in San Francisco Courtroom

Huckabee Declares Israel Has Biblical Right to Middle East From Nile to Euphrates

Impasse Over Prosecutor Appointments Deepens With Firing of Second Judge-Chosen U.S. Attorney