Daijiworld Media Network - Washington

Washington, Feb 23: United States Secret Service agents fatally shot a man armed with a shotgun after he breached the security perimeter of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in the early hours of Sunday.

Trump was in Washington at the time of the incident, which occurred around 1.30 am (0630 GMT), officials said.

According to the Secret Service, the suspect — a man in his early 20s — was spotted near the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago property carrying a shotgun and a fuel can. Agents confronted him and ordered him to drop the items.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters that the suspect put down the gas can but raised the shotgun into a firing position. A deputy and two Secret Service agents then opened fire. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. No officers were injured.

The sheriff identified the suspect as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin, a resident of North Carolina. Media reports said he was an illustrator of landscapes and golf courses.

The Secret Service confirmed that no one under its protection was present at Mar-a-Lago during the incident.

Trump, who frequently spends weekends at the Florida estate, has faced multiple assassination plots or attempts in recent years.

Earlier this month, Ryan Routh, 59, who plotted to assassinate Trump at a Florida golf course in September 2024, was sentenced to life in prison.

The plot had followed an earlier assassination attempt in Pennsylvania, where 20-year-old Matthew Crooks fired several shots during a rally, one of which grazed Trump’s right ear. Crooks was shot dead by security personnel at the scene.

The rally attack, in which a supporter was killed, became a defining moment in Trump’s political comeback, with images of a bloodied Trump raising his fist widely circulated.

Political violence has escalated in recent years amid deep polarization in the United States. Several elected officials and public figures have been targeted in violent incidents across the country.

The Secret Service is tasked with protecting the president, vice president, former presidents and their families, as well as major election candidates and visiting foreign dignitaries.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blamed Democrats for a partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service. Democrats have opposed additional funding for the department without changes to the administration’s deportation policies.