Armed Man Shot and Killed Inside Secure Perimeter of Mar-a-Lago | The Well News

Armed Man Shot and Killed Inside Secure Perimeter of Mar-a-Lago

by Dan McCue

WASHINGTON — An armed man was shot and killed by Secret Service agents early Sunday morning after he drove his vehicle into the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s resort and home in Palm Beach, Florida.

The president was not at any time in harm’s way, as he remained at the White House this weekend, where he and first lady Melania Trump hosted a dinner for governors in the East Room Saturday night.

The incident occurred at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning, after the man, identified as Austin Tucker Martin, age 21, of North Carolina, entered the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago as another vehicle was exiting, according to Anthony Guglielmi, an agency spokesman.

Secret Service agents and a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department responded immediately and found the man, described as a white male in his early 20s, carrying a shotgun and a gas can.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters Sunday that the agents and deputy confronted the man, and ordered him to drop both of those items.

“He put down the gas can, and raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said of the intruder. “At that point, the deputy and the two secret service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat.”

“He is deceased at the scene,” the sheriff added.

Martin’s motive is still being investigated.

Based on the scant information now available, Martin lived with his parents and an older brother in the small town of Cameron, North Carolina, which is located about 55 miles southwest of Raleigh.

The Moore County Sheriff’s Office said Sunday it had “no prior history involving Martin” until his family reported him missing over the weekend.

Martin, who drew pen illustrations of golf courses and was starting to work in watercolors, limited his online presence to a website for Fresh Sky Illustrations and an Instagram account, greenillustrator11, to promote Fresh Sky.

According to the Moore County Sheriff’s Office, a relative of Martin’s reported him missing at about the same time that the incident at Mar-a-Lago was unfolding.

Social media posts from the family said he hadn’t been heard from since just before 8 p.m. Saturday and hadn’t been seen since the afternoon.

The sheriff’s office immediately entered Martin’s name in a national missing person database. A short time later federal authorities contacted the sheriff’s office saying they were conducting an active investigation in Florida involving Martin.

Bradshaw said the FBI is the lead investigative agency on the case, and that his department “will be assisting them in whatever manner they would like.”

Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue

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