US Secret Service agents and Palm Beach County law enforcement shot and killed an armed man who unlawfully entered the secure perimeter at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida on Sunday morning, the Secret Service said.
The FBI has identified the man as Austin Tucker Martin, 21, of Moore County, North Carolina. He was struggling with a form of mental illness and had become increasingly interested in Jeffrey Epstein and the idea of a government cover-up of crimes related to the sex offender, a law enforcement official told CNN.
The president and first lady were at the White House in Washington, DC, at the time of the incident. Trump was briefed on the incident Sunday morning, a White House official told CNN.
The incident comes amid a backdrop of heightened political violence in the US. In July 2024, Trump survived an assassination attempt while campaigning for his second term in Pennsylvania. Another man who planned to assassinate the president at his Florida golf course in September 2024 was sentenced this month to life in prison.
Political violence has targeted Republican and Democratic figures alike. Last summer, Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband were shot and killed, and conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in September.
Martin entered the secure perimeter at Mar-a-Lago around 1:30 a.m. ET before he was shot by agents and a deputy with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, authorities said. He appeared to be carrying a shotgun and a fuel can, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference Sunday.
Authorities said Martin entered Mar-a-Lago through the north gate as an employee was walking out. He made it about 20 or 30 yards before he was confronted by law enforcement, officials said.
When a deputy and two Secret Service agents encountered Martin, they ordered him to drop the items. He dropped the gas can and “raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said.
The deputy and agents then fired their weapons and he was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff said. He added that the officers involved were wearing body cameras.
Martin was reported missing Saturday by his mother, law enforcement officials said.
The FBI is leading the investigation, with teams collecting evidence and looking into his background and motive. Agents went to Martin’s home in Moore County where they seized his vehicle and digital devices and interviewed family, friends and neighbors.
“Part of the ongoing investigation is to build a timeline of Martin’s movements, stops, purchases, and interactions with other people during his drive from North Carolina to Palm Beach County in addition to attempting to establish a possible motive,” said Brett Skiles, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami.
Martin had grown more and more interested in theories around the infamous Epstein, a law enforcement source told CNN.
Officials believe Martin drove to Florida from his hometown before breaching the Mar-a-Lago complex early Sunday morning, two law enforcement sources told CNN.
Martin and his family were known for being supportive of President Donald Trump, according to one of the sources, and family members described Martin as kind and slightly reserved at times. He significantly struggled in the wake of his sister’s death in 2023 from a car accident, investigators were told.
He told others he believed there may have been a cover-up around the Epstein files and the late financier from the top of the US government, the source added.
Investigators are still looking into what, specifically, his motivations and intentions were when he showed up to Mar-a-Lago with a shotgun and fuel canister.
Shotgun and gas can image from Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
No law enforcement officials were harmed in the incident, authorities said.
The Secret Service agents involved will be placed on administrative leave during the investigation “in accordance with agency policy,” a Secret Service statement said. Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said the agency’s director, Sean Curran, was traveling to Florida for “after-actions” and that “our teams remain fully engaged on the mission.”
