Mar-a-Lago gunman pictured after fatal shooting by secret service agents

Austin Tucker Martin, 21, of Cameron, North Carolina, was an artist who specialised in pictures of golf courses and had been reported missing by his family to authorities on Saturday

The gunman who was shot dead by Secret Service Officers as he tried to enter Mar-a-Lago with a shotgun and a petrol can has been named and pictured for the first time.

Austin Tucker Martin, 21, of Cameron, North Carolina, was gunned down by law enforcement in the early hours of Sunday morning trying to gain access to the Florida resort where Trump spends much of his time.

Martin reportedly worked as an artist who specialised in drawings of golf courses and was reported missing by his family to authorities on Saturday. He was branded "crazy" in a statement by the White House earlier today.

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Although the US president often spends weekends at the seaside resort, he was at the White House in Washington during this incident, as was first lady Melania Trump.

His press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “In the middle of the night while most Americans were asleep, the United States Secret Service acted quickly and decisively to neutralise a crazy person, armed with a gun and a gas canister, who intruded President Trump’s home.

“Federal law enforcement are working 24/7 to keep our country safe and protect all Americans.”

Local sheriff Ric Bradshaw said two agents and one of his deputies went to the north gate of the property at 6.30am where they “confronted a white male”.

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 and 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.”daily-mirror-icon_news_us-news_donald-trump

Bradshaw said no law enforcement staff were injured. The Secret Service said Martin from North Carolina and was an artist who specialised in drawings of golf courses. He had been reported missing a few days ago by his family.

Investigators believe he left North Carolina and headed south, buying a shotgun on the way. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the box for the gun was recovered in his vehicle.

He said the man drove through the north gate of Mar-a-Lago as another vehicle was exiting, and he was confronted by Secret Service agents and was fatally shot.

Brett Skiles, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office, said the bureau’s evidence response team was processing the site of the shooting and collecting evidence, and would “continue to work the scene for as long as it takes.”

Skiles asked residents who live near the sprawling resort on the exclusive Palm Beach island to check exterior cameras for any footage from Saturday night or early Sunday for “anything that looks suspicious or out of place”.

FBI director Kash Patel said the agency was "dedicating all necessary resources in the investigation of the … incident at President Trump’s Mar-A-Lago". Patel said: "an armed individual was shot and killed after unlawfully entering the perimeter".

Known as the “Winter White House,” Mar-A-Lago is President Trump's Florida residence. He bought the sprawling Spanish style mansion in 1985 for £7.4m and it became the Trump family’s winter getaway.

During his presidency, Trump has frequently used the estate to host world leaders, celebrities and business bosses at glittering parties and fundraisers. Built in 1927, Mar-A-Lago is also an exclusive private members exclusive club, where guests have access to the whole estate apart from the Trump family's private area.

In July, 2024, Trump was wounded during an assassination attempt as he spoke at a rally for supporters in Butler, Pennsylvania, during the presidential election campaign. A bullet grazed his ear and some spectators were killed. Then on 15 September of the same year a man with a rifle was captured after waiting near Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach while the president played a round.

He appeared to be pointing the weapon through a perimeter fence. He was sentenced to life in prison earlier this month.