The Secret Service shot and killed a man trying to enter a secure area at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, early on Sunday morning, the agency said in a statement.
Key Facts
- Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office deputy saw a man carrying what appeared to be a shotgun and fuel canister near Mar-a-Lago’s north gate, the agency reported.
- The person killed has been identified as a man in his early 20s.
- The suspect was reported missing by his family in North Carolina days ago, the Associated Press reported citing a Secret Service spokesperson, and possibly bought the shotgun on the drive down to Florida.
- The man was shot and killed by law enforcement around 1:30 a.m. EST.
- Both Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were at the White House while the shooting occurred, and “there were no Secret Service protectees present at the location at the time of the incident,” the agency said.
Key Background
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a brief press conference Sunday the man “made his way into the inner perimeter of Mar-a-Lago.” Two Secret Service agents and a sheriff’s deputy confronted him near the gate, according to Bradshaw. “He put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position, at that point in time the deputy and two secret service agents fired their weapons,” Bradshaw said. None of the law enforcement agents were injured during the incident, according to authorities, and the investigation remains ongoing.
This story was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
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