Man shot dead at Mar-a-Lago ‘didn’t know how to use a gun’, from family of avid Trump supporters

Washington: Police have shot and killed a man in his early 20s who was trying to break into Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, armed with a shotgun and a fuel canister, authorities say.

The man breached the secure perimeter on the north side of the property about 1.30am on Sunday (Florida time) when he was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a local police officer.

Trump was not in the area at the time – he was at the White House in Washington, where he hosted a ball for state governors.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the Secret Service agents and sheriff’s deputy ordered the man to “drop the items”. He then put down the fuel can and “raised the shotgun to a shooting position”, Bradshaw said.

“At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralised the threat. He is deceased at the scene.”

The man killed was identified by investigators as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin, according to a person familiar with the matter speaking anonymously to AP.

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Martin had been reported missing by his family a few days ago, and investigators believe he headed south and picked up the shotgun along the way.

A box for the weapon was discovered in a vehicle after the incident, which took place about 1.30am Florida time, Guglielmi said.

The FBI has asked residents near Mar-a-Lago to check their security camera footage. In a post on X, FBI director Kash Patel said the bureau would be “dedicating all necessary resources” to the investigation.

Investigators are working to compile a psychological profile, and a motive is still under investigation. Asked whether the man was known to law enforcement, Bradshaw said, “Not right now.”

Braeden Fields, Martin’s 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, 19, said. He said they grew up together. “I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing.

Last year, conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking on campus at a university in Utah. Melissa Hortman, a Democratic politician in the state of Minnesota, was assassinated alongside her husband in June in another act of politically motivated violence.

Trump has yet to comment on Sunday’s incident, but Attorney-General Pam Bondi said she had spoken to the president and was co-ordinating the response with federal partners.

Meanwhile, senior White House staffers, including press secretary Karoline Leavitt, used the incident to criticise Democrats for voting against a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, including the Secret Service, because of concerns about immigration enforcement agencies such as ICE.

“In the middle of the night while most Americans were asleep, the United States 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,” Leavitt said on X.

“Federal law enforcement are working 24/7 to keep our country safe and protect all Americans. It’s shameful and reckless that Democrats have chosen to shut down their department.”

With AP, Reuters

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