An armed man was shot and killed Sunday morning after he entered the secure perimeter of President Trump’s private Florida residence and resort, Mar-a-Lago, and was confronted by U.S. Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy.
Trump, who was in Washington, D.C., on Saturday night hosting the annual Governors Dinner at the White House, was not at Mar-a-Lago at the time of the incident.
According to the Secret Service, a male in his early 20s armed with a shotgun and a fuel can was spotted by the north gate of Trump’s residence in Palm Beach, Fla., around 1:30 a.m.
When a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and two Secret Service agents went to investigate, they ordered him to drop the items, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric L. Bradshaw said during a news conference Sunday morning.
“He put down the gas can, 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 neutralized the threat.”
The man was declared dead at the scene. Rafael Barrows, special agent in charge of the Secret Service’s Miami field office, said no law enforcement agents were harmed in the incident.
The FBI is leading the investigation.
Brett Skiles, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office, said the Evidence Response Team is processing the scene and collecting evidence. He asked residents who live in the vicinity to check their exterior cameras and contact the FBI or the West Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office if they spotted anything that looks suspicious or out of place.
The officers involved were wearing body cameras, Bradshaw said.
Asked whether the man was known to law enforcement before the incident, Bradshaw said, “Not right now.”
The Secret Service said in a statement that teams are looking into the deceased man’s background and motive. His name is being withheld until his family is notified of his death. The agents involved in the incident will be placed on routine administrative leave during the investigation “in accordance with agency policy.”
The incident comes amid a wave of national political violence against President Trump and other politicians.
In July 2024, Trump survived an assassination attempt when a bullet grazed his ear during an outdoor campaign rally in Butler, Pa. A few months later, a man with a rifle was arrested by Secret Service agents as he was spotted hiding amid shrubs near Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course.