President Donald Trump commented on an armed intruder who was fatally shot by authorities at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The incident occurred early Sunday morning when a 21-year-old man entered the secure perimeter carrying a shotgun and a fuel can. Trump was not present at the time.
An armed intruder was shot and killed by law enforcement at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, early Sunday morning. The Secret Service announced that the man unlawfully entered the secure perimeter around 1:30 a.m. Authorities identified the deceased as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of Cameron, North Carolina. Martin had been reported missing by his family on Saturday; a family member told a sheriff's deputy in Moore County, North Carolina, that he had been unreachable since about 8 p.m. that evening. Later, Martin's mother posted on Facebook seeking help to find him.
According to reports, Martin walked through one of the club's main gates as a vehicle was exiting, carrying a shotgun and a gas can. Law enforcement assigned to Mar-a-Lago responded, and two Secret Service agents along with a Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy fatally shot him after he disregarded orders to drop the shotgun.
Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago during the incident, as he had remained at the White House for the weekend. On Monday morning, he addressed the event while speaking to angel families in the East Room of the White House. “I don’t know how long I’ll be around,” Trump said. “Got a lot of people gunning for me.” He added, referring to historical assassinations, “You know, if you read about all these crazy shooters, they don’t go after non-consequential presidents.” Trump joked, “So maybe I want to be a little less consequential? Can we hold it back a little bit, please? Can this be a normal presidency for a little while?”
The FBI is leading the investigation into Martin's background, actions, and potential motivations, with the Secret Service assisting. Tabloid reports suggested Martin was obsessed with Jeffrey Epstein files based on text messages, but this has not been confirmed. Anthony Guglielmi, Chief of Communications for the Secret Service, said, “I’d be careful about leaning too much into that. There is a lot of work to do.”
