SMG News Wire
LIVE COVERAGE: The Secret Service shot and killed a man who breached the perimeter at Mar-a-Lago with a shotgun and a gas can. The threat has been neutralized. This is a developing story. Live updates will be posted throughout the day. Click here to get my breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox.
Suspect ID’d as Austin Tucker Martin
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw confirmed to Fox News that the suspect was 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina. Martin’s family had reported him missing.
House Republicans Blame Radical Lunatics
Radical lunatics continue to threaten President Trump and those around him. It’s sick. Please join us in giving thanks for the Secret Service officers who acted quickly and for the continued safety of our President.
Suspect From North Carolina, In Early 20’s
The man, who the agency said was “in his early 20s,” was confronted near the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago complex, and was carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel canister, the Secret Service said.
The suspect’s identity has not been released yet because of “pending notification of next of kin,” the statement said.
“U.S. Secret Service agents and a PBSO deputy confronted the individual and shots were fired by law enforcement during the encounter,” the Secret Service said in an initial statement. “No U.S. Secret Service or PBSO personnel were injured.”
The suspect, who was 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.
President Trump hosted state governors at the White House on Saturday night, and was not at Mar-a-Lago at the time of the shooting.
Law enforcement officers, including Secret Service agents and an officer with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, were involved in the shooting, the Secret Service said. Investigators with the F.B.I., the Secret Service and the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office were investigating, the Secret Service said.