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TRANSCRIPT
A man armed with a shotgun and a fuel can has been shot and killed after breaching a secure perimeter at United States President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
US Secret Service and local police confronted the man, identified as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin, before ordering him to drop his shot gun and a fuel can.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw says he then raised his weapon, prompting officers to fire.
" They confronted a white male that was carrying a gas can and a shotgun. He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him, at which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun into a shooting position. At that point in time, the deputy and two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat. He is deceased at the scene."
Donald Trump, who usually spends weekends at his Palm Beach resort, was in Washington at the time.
The Secret Service is responsible for the safety of the president and their family, as well as other high profile politicians and their families.
It says no one under its protection was at Mar-a-Lago at the time.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation will take over the investigation, with Special Agent Brett Skiles urging nearby residents to review their security footage for any possible evidence.
" One thing I would ask the public is if you live in the area of the shooting, please check your exterior cameras for last night or this morning. If you see anything that looks suspicious or out of place, please contact us at 1-800-Call-FBI or contact the West Palm Beach Sheriff's Office."
According to a source familiar with the investigation, the suspect, hailing from North Carolina, was reported missing in the days leading up to the shooting.
CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller told CNN that investigators are now looking to track the suspect's movements in the days prior.
"Well, what they're trying to do, Omar, is to backtrack through the last 24 hours or more since this individual was reported missing. He's a 22 year old man from the area of Cameron, North Carolina, and it appears he drove there to Mar-A-Lago. One of the things that was found in the vehicle, his Volkswagen, SUV was, the box for the shotgun. So investigators believe that he left his North Carolina home, stopped along the way, perhaps, and purchased that shotgun, and the gasoline, and then drove to Mar-A-Lago. One of the questions is how did he get into that perimeter? It appears that as an employee was leaving, and opened the gate to walk out. He caught the gate and walked in."
With reports that the suspect was able to enter the perimeter as a car was leaving through a gate, questions have been raised about the strength of security at the resort.
Speaking to the BBC, Former US Secret Service Agent and assistant professor of practice in criminal justice, Robert McDonald says law enforcement did their job well.
"It is a security breach, but as I indicated, that that person was not able to get to where the president would have been. So, yes, did he breach the perimeter? Yes, he did, but in a very short order was detected and was addressed. So, look, there's always gonna be second questions. There's always gonna be Monday morning quarterbacking. At the end of the day, the Secret Service is responsible for making sure nothing happens to the president and his family. The president was not there, and yes, this person did get inside the gate, but, was detected and was acted upon properly. So the pundits will come out and talk about it, but at the end of the day, the president is still safe today."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reacted to the shooting by criticising a Democratic Senate campaign commercial, in which supporters of Senate hopeful Juliana Stratton repeat the phrase "F Trump, Vote Juliana" a number of times.
Ms Stratton then goes on to say that she's "not scared of a wannabe dictator", pledging to abolish ICE and hold Donald Trump accountable.
Despite no motive being established for the security breach, Scott Bessent told Fox News that he believes that language normalises violence.
"Look at this terrible, profane Senate (campaign) commercial in Illinois. I would call for them to take that down, take that because it is that kind of venom that we don't know whether this person was a mastermind, unhinged, or what. But they are normalizing this violence. It's got to stop."
Law enforcement officials have not released any information about suspected motives of the man, but the incident comes as the United States is facing a spike in political violence.
In June 2025, Democratic state politician Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed; months later, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was also assassinated.
During his 2024 campaign, Donald Trump was targeted in two separate incidents.
First, when a bullet grazed his ear during a rally in Pennsylvania, and then again when a man was found armed and hiding in bushes on a Florida golf course while Mr Trump was playing.
Robert McDonald says keeping the president safe is a mammoth task.
"We would love to keep the president in the White House or in her residence or in his residence or in his limousine all day, but that's not American politics. So everywhere the president goes, everywhere the vice president goes, a security, apparatus is set up in concert with local, state, and other federal law enforcement partners. It's a very difficult job. It's twenty-four/seven, seven days a week, nights, weekends, and holidays."
