US Secret Service shoots dead armed man at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate
Donald Trump resident at the Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. FILE PHOTO: REUTERS
The US Secret Service said Sunday its agents had shot and killed an armed man who illegally entered the premises of President Donald Trump´s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
Trump was in Washington at the time of the incident, which officials said happened around 1:30am (0630 GMT).
"An armed man was shot & killed by US Secret Service agents & @PBCountySheriff after unlawfully entering the secure perimeter at Mar-a-Lago early this morning," agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a post on X.
An armed man was shot & killed by U.S. Secret Service agents & @PBCountySheriff after unlawfully entering the secure perimeter at Mar-a-Lago early this morning. A press briefing with additional details will be held at 9:00 a.m with @FBI and Palm Beach County. pic.twitter.com/jAXhdb1xEL
The suspect, a man in his early 20s, was observed by the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago property carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can," the agency said in a statement.
Read More: Donald Trump safe after gunfire reported near Florida golf club
Agents confronted the man and fired shots. No US officers were injured. Trump has been the target of several assassination plots or attempts.
Earlier this month, Ryan Routh, 59, who plotted to assassinate the president at a Florida golf course in September 2024, two months before the US election, was sentenced to life in prison.
Routh's planned attack on Trump came two months after an assassination attempt on the Republican leader in Pennsylvania, where 20-year-old Matthew Crooks fired several shots during a rally, one of them grazing Trump´s right ear.
That attack, in which a rallygoer was killed, proved to be a turning point in Trump's return to power. Crooks was immediately shot and killed by security forces and his motive remains unknown.