An armed man in his early 20s was shot and killed by U.S. Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy early Sunday morning after breaching the perimeter at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, according to officials.
Two agents and a deputy spotted the man at about 1:30 a.m. near the north gate of the property, carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said they confronted the man — who has not yet been publicly identified — and ordered him to drop his weapons.
The sheriff said the man lowered the gas can but “raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” at which point the agents and deputy began to shoot, killing him.
Bradshaw, speaking to reporters at a 9:30 a.m. press conference, said he didn’t know how many rounds the agents fired, or whether the man was known to law enforcement prior to this incident.
He did not identify the agents or deputy involved and did not say who fired the fatal shot, but said the deputy was equipped with a body-worn camera at the time. Bradshaw did not indicate when the footage will be released.
Neither Trump nor first lady Melania Trump were at Mar-a-Lago, as they were in Washington, D.C. hosting the Governor’s Association Dinner at the White House. Authorities have not said who was present at Trump’s Palm Beach estate during the break in, saying only that no Secret Service “protectees” were among them.
No Secret Service or PBSO officers were injured.
The FBI is leading the investigation, with help from the Secret Service and PBSO. The two agents and deputy involved will be placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, per both agencies’ policies.
Other incidents at Mar-a-Lago since Trump became president
The overnight break-in at Mar-a-Lago comes two and a half weeks after Ryan Routh, another man accused of trying to harm the president, was sentenced to life in prison. Routh staked out Trump’s International Golf Club in September 2024, aiming a loaded rifle toward the course’s sixth hole while Trump teed off at the fifth.
A Secret Service agent spotted him before the then-Republican nominee came into his line of sight. There were a number of security breaches at or near Mar-a-Lago since Trump became first president-elect, then during his first and second presidencies.
∎ In January 2020, an opera singer made it through the security checkpoints. There was a high-speed chase through all of the barricades all the way down past Mar-a-Lago. Her car was shot at multiple times. She survived, but her car was destroyed. The woman, who has a history of mental illness, entered an insanity defense.
∎ Two Chinese women tried to enter Mar-a-Lago. One woman was carrying four cell phones and a USB infected with malware.
∎ In 2019, a University of Wisconsin student was intercepted when he was in the tunnel, which connects the club to the beach.
∎ In December 2024, shortly after Trump was re-elected, two people, a woman and a teenage boy, were arrested in separate trespassing incidents at the president-elect’s private club.
∎ In February 2025, authorities arrested a man who jumped over a wall and onto the lawn of Mar-a-Lago one day before the president was scheduled to return to the Palm Beach estate.
∎ In November 2025, Palm Beach Police arrested a woman on charges of driving under the influence and hit-and-run after they said she crashed through police barricades at a security checkpoint near Mar-a-Lago Club, while the president was home. The 85-year-old South End resident was taken into custody after the incident. She was released from the Palm Beach County Jail on Nov. 16 on a $1,250 bond, jail records show.
∎ In February 2026, competing demonstrations outside Trump International Golf Club on Feb. 15 led to the arrest of a 76-year-old suburban Lake Worth Beach man on a misdemeanor battery charge. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said that it took Paul Messer into custody after the incident at the suburban West Palm Beach site, where he carried a flagpole as part of a “Not My President” protest over the immigration policies of President Donald Trump. Trump was at the course, playing golf with Gov. Ron DeSantis and former college football coaches Urban Meyer and Nick Saban, according to a White House media pool report.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Man fatally shot near Mar-a-Lago after entering perimeter with weapons
Reporting by Hannah Phillips, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
