February 23, 2026 | 04:58 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United States Secret Service said Sunday that agents shot and killed an armed man after he breached a secure perimeter at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
"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," agency spokesman Anthony Guglielmi wrote on social media.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump were at the White House in Washington, DC, during the incident.
Man made his way to inner perimeter of Mar-a-Lago
The security detail at the estate noticed the intrusion at 1:30 a.m. (0530 GMT/UTC) on Sunday, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of Palm Beach County said.
A sheriff's deputy and two Secret Service agents confronted "a white male that was carrying a gas can and a shotgun," Bradshaw said.
"He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him 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 neutralized the threat," he said.
Investigators said the man, in his early 20s from North Carolina, had been reported missing by his family days earlier and is believed to have traveled south, picking up a shotgun along the way. The gun's box was found in his vehicle, Guglielmi from the Secret Service said.
He added that the man drove through the north gate of Mar-a-Lago as another vehicle was exiting.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Secret Service "acted quickly and decisively to neutralize a crazy person, armed with a gun and a gas canister, who intruded President Trump's home."
Leavitt went on to blame Democrats for an ongoing partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Secret Service.
"It's shameful and reckless that Democrats have chosen to shut down their Department," she wrote on X.
Democrats have opposed new funding for DHS until it makes changes to its mass deportation program, which has been the target of protests following the shooting of two U.S. citizens in the state of Minnesota by federal agents.
The FBI is the lead agency investigating the incident, working alongside the Secret Service and the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency is "dedicating all necessary resources" to the investigation.
Trump has been a target before
The United States has been rocked by a series of political violence incidents in the last couple of years.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed in September last year as he spoke with students during an event at Utah Valley University. A suspect was arrested and is facing charges including aggravated murder.
In June last year, a masked shooter killed Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband in their home. Another elected Democratic official and his wife were also targeted and seriously injured.
In April, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, touted last year as a potential Democratic presidential hopeful, had his home set alight in what authorities described as an alleged assassination attempt.
Trump survived an assassination attempt at a July 2024 campaign rally in Pennsylvania, suffering only a minor ear injury.
Later that year, a man armed with a rifle was arrested near Trump's West Palm Beach golf course and was sentenced to life in prison earlier this month.
Read: US: Technical Issues Force NASA to Postpone Moon Mission
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