PALM BEACH, Fla. — An armed man carrying a shotgun and a fuel can was shot and killed by law enforcement early Sunday morning after breaching the secure perimeter of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
President Trump was in Washington, D.C., at the time of the incident, which occurred at approximately 1:30 a.m. ET.
The suspect, identified by CBS News as Austin T. Martin of Cameron, North Carolina, was confronted near the property’s north gate by Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy. According to authorities, Martin ignored verbal commands to stand down.
“The only words that we said to him was ‘drop the items,’ which means the gas can and the shotgun,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said during a Sunday news conference. “At which time he put down the gas can, [and] raised the shotgun to a shooting position.”
Law enforcement officers immediately fired their weapons to “neutralize the threat,” Bradshaw added. No officers were injured during the confrontation, and the incident was captured on police body cameras. The FBI is currently assisting in the investigation to determine, among other details, whether the suspect’s weapon was loaded and if it was purchased during his drive from North Carolina to Florida.
A Missing Persons Report Turned Deadly
Hours before the fatal encounter, Martin’s family in North Carolina had reported him missing. The Moore County Sheriff’s Office confirmed they received the missing persons report in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The local sheriff’s department stated they had no prior history with Martin and have since turned all relevant information over to federal authorities managing the Florida investigation.
In response to the security breach, U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran traveled to Florida on Sunday to oversee “after-actions.” The agency stated on X that Curran’s visit aims to reinvigorate operational communication and the agency’s response to critical incidents.
Security at the Mar-a-Lago estate remains highly restricted, featuring an outer cordon managed by local sheriffs and a strict inner perimeter controlled by the Secret Service, complete with metal detectors, canine sweeps, and vehicle searches.
A Climate of Political Violence
Sunday’s incident adds to a growing list of security threats and violent acts directed at political figures in recent months. President Trump has been the target of multiple assassination attempts over the past year:
- July 2024: Trump was shot in the ear by a 20-year-old gunman during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooter was killed by security forces, and one bystander lost their life.
- Late 2024: A 59-year-old man, Ryan Routh, was apprehended after a Secret Service agent spotted a rifle protruding from the bushes at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Routh was recently sentenced to life in prison.
Following Sunday’s fatal shooting, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointed fingers at the political left, accusing them of fueling a dangerous environment.
“Two would-be assassins dead, one in jail for life, and this venom coming from the other side,” Bessent stated during an appearance on Fox Business. “They are normalizing this violence. It’s got to stop.”
The nation has seen a broader surge in politically motivated violence over the last year, including arson at Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s mansion, the fatal shootings of a Democratic lawmaker and her husband in Minnesota, and the public shooting of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
