Intruder killed breaking into Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate ‘with shotgun and fuel can’
An intruder on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate has been shot dead, the Secret Service has said.
The man drove through the north gate of the resort as another vehicle was exiting where he was confronted by Secret Service agents.
Two agents were sent to locate the intruder, in his early 20s,’carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can’. When confronted they told him to drop the weapon.
According to the Secret Service, the man, described as white, raised his shotgun into a shooting position before the agents opened fire, killing him at 1.30am on Sunday.
The US President wasn’t at the resort in West Palm Beach, Florida at the time of the break-in, security have said.
Although Trump often spends weekends there, he was at the White House with first lady Melania Trump.
Rick Bradshaw, the sheriff of Palm Beach County, spoke to reporters to outline the details of the shooting.
(Picture: AFP)
‘At 1.30 this morning, the security detail detected that an individual had made his way into the inner perimeter of Mar-A-Lago,’ he said.
‘A deputy and two Secret Service agents on the detail went to that area to investigate.
‘They confronted a white male that was carrying a gas can and a shotgun.
‘He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with them at which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position.
‘At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralised the threat. He is deceased at the scene.’
He confirmed the words that agents shouted at the suspect during the nighttime confrontation.
‘Words that we said to him was, ‘Drop the items’, Bradshaw told reporters.
He then ‘put the gas can down and pointed the shotgun at the officers’, according to Bradshaw.
The FBI asked area residents who live near Mar-a-Lago to check any security cameras they may have for footage that could help investigators.
What do we know about the suspect killed?
Not much is known about the intruder at this early stage.
The Secret Service said the man who was shot and killed was in his 20s.
The suspect was reported missing a few days ago by his family in North Carolina.
Investigators believe he left North Carolina and headed south, picking up a shotgun along the way, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
The box for the gun was recovered in his vehicle, he said.
His potential motive and background are under investigation by the FBI, the US Secret Service, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
How many assassination attempts has Donald Trump survived?
Saturday break-in at Trump’s Florida home is a few miles from his West Palm Beach golf club, where a man tried to assassinate Trump while he played golf during the 2024 election.
A Secret Service agent spotted that man, Ryan Routh, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire and caused Routh to drop his weapon.
Routh was found guilty last year and sentenced this month to life in prison.
That incident came months after Trump survived an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania campaign rally.
That gunman had fired eight shots, with one bullet grazing Trump’s ear, before being shot by a Secret Service counter sniper.