WPTV, CNN
By Lauren Mascarenhas, John Miller, CNN
(CNN) — 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 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.
A White man in his early 20s 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. The man appeared to be carrying a shotgun and a fuel can, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference Sunday.
The man 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 the man, they ordered him to drop the items. The man dropped the gas can and “raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said.
The deputy and agents then fired their weapons at him and he was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff said. He added that the officers involved were wearing body cameras.
The man is from North Carolina and was reported missing Saturday by his mother, law enforcement officials said. His name is being withheld until his family is notified of his death.
The FBI is leading the investigation, with teams collecting evidence and looking into his background and motive.
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, is traveling to Florida for “after-actions” and that “our teams remain fully engaged