WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Secret Service announced Sunday that an armed man was shot and killed after entering the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Although Trump often spends weekends at his resort, he was at the White House during this incident. First lady Melania Trump was also with the president at the White House on Saturday night.
The name of the person who was shot has not been released. According to the Secret Service, he was “observed by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago property carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can.” The incident took place at 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
The suspect, who was in his early 20s and from North Carolina, was reported missing a few days ago by his family. Investigators believe he left North Carolina and headed south, picking up a shotgun along the way, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. The box for the gun was recovered in his vehicle, Guglielmi said. The man drove through the north gate of Mar-a-Lago as another vehicle was exiting and was confronted by Secret Service agents, Guglielmi said. The agents confronted the armed man and he was fatally shot. Investigators are working to compile a psychological profile and a motive is still under investigation.
He was shot by Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff deputy, the agency said.
Trump has faced threats to his life before. He was wounded during an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., on July 13, 2024.
Then on Sept. 15, 2024, a man with a rifle was captured after waiting near Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach while the president played a round. He was sentenced to life in prison earlier this month.
The incident comes as the U.S. has been rocked multiple times in recent years by political violence. Just last year, that included the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the assassination of the Democratic leader in the Minnesota state House and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife, and an arson attack at the official residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
The incursion on Saturday at Trump’s Florida home is a few miles from his West Palm Beach golf club where a man tried to assassinate Trump while he played golf during the 2024 election. A Secret Service agent spotted that man, Ryan Routh, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire and caused Routh to drop his weapon.
Routh was found guilty last year and sentenced this month to life in prison.
That incident came months after Trump survived an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania campaign rally. That gunman had fired eight shots, with one bullet grazing Trump’s ear, before being shot by a Secret Service counter sniper.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
