The United States Secret Service agents and local police have shot and killed a man who drove into the secure perimeter of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in the state of Florida.
Secret Service Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the man had a gas can and a shotgun and was shot at about 1:30am on Sunday (06:30 GMT).
Trump was in Washington, DC, and not Mar-a-Lago, when the incident took place.
No other individuals under Secret Service protection were present, Guglielmi said.
Authorities identified the slain man as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin from North Carolina. His family had recently reported him missing.
He was believed to have bought his shotgun while driving south, Guglielmi said, and a box for the weapon was later discovered in the man’s vehicle.
Investigators have not yet identified a motive.
The man entered the north gate of the property as another vehicle was exiting and was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.
The man put down the gas can and raised the shotgun “to a shooting position”, prompting law enforcement to open fire, Bradshaw said.
He was declared dead at the scene, Bradshaw added.
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”.
The FBI appealed to nearby residents to go through their security footage for any material that could aid the investigation. The agency’s director, Kash Patel, said the bureau is “dedicating all necessary resources” to the probe.
The Moore County Sheriff’s Department in North Carolina said a relative of Martin’s reported him missing early on Sunday morning.
On Sunday afternoon, vehicles were seen blocking the entrance to a property listed in public records as an address for the suspect, Martin, at the end of a private road in Cameron, North Carolina.
Braeden Fields, Martin’s 19-year-old cousin, reacted with disbelief.
He described Martin as quiet, afraid of guns and from a family of avid Trump supporters.
“He’s a good kid,” Fields told The Associated Press news agency. He said they grew up together. “I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing,” Fields said.
He said Martin worked at a local golf course and would send money from each paycheck to charity.
“He wouldn’t even hurt an ant. He doesn’t even know how to use a gun,” Fields said.
He said his cousin did not discuss politics.
“We are big Trump supporters, all of us. Everybody,” Fields said, but his cousin was “real quiet, never really talked about anything”.
Trump has faced several assassination plots or attempts in recent years.
Sunday’s incursion at Mar-a-Lago took place a few miles from Trump’s West Palm Beach club where a man tried to assassinate him while he played golf during the 2024 campaign.
A Secret Service agent spotted that man, Ryan Routh, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire and caused Routh to drop his weapon.
Routh was found guilty last year and sentenced this month to life in prison.
Trump also survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. That gunman fired eight shots before being killed by a Secret Service counter sniper. One rally attendee was killed by the attacker.
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