US Secret Service agents fatally shot an armed man in the early hours of Sunday, February 22, after he breached the secured perimeter of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, officials confirmed. The incident took place at approximately 1:30 am local time (0630 GMT). Trump was in Washington at the time and was not present at the property.
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said agents observed the man unlawfully crossing the estate’s secure perimeter near the north gate. According to an agency statement, the suspect believed to be in his early 20s was seen carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can.
Agents confronted the individual and ordered him to drop both items. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said the man set down the fuel can but then raised the shotgun into a firing position. In response, a sheriff’s deputy and two Secret Service agents opened fire. The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. No law enforcement officers sustained injuries, and no Secret Service protectees were on the property at the time. Authorities have not released the suspect’s identity as they work to notify his next of kin.
The incident is the latest in a string of threats and violent acts directed at Trump. Earlier this month, Ryan Routh, 59, was sentenced to life in prison for plotting to assassinate the president at a Florida golf course in September 2024. That plot came on the heels of a separate assassination attempt two months prior in Pennsylvania, where 20-year-old Matthew Crooks fired multiple shots at a campaign rally, grazing Trump’s right ear. One rally attendee was killed in that attack; Crooks was shot and killed by security personnel at the scene. His motive has not been established.
Sunday’s fatal shooting at Mar-a-Lago marks the latest episode of political violence to strike an increasingly polarised United States.
-
-
-
-
