Federal investigation underway after law enforcement shot armed man at Mar-a-Lago
(NBC, KYMA) - A federal investigation is underway Monday morning after Secret Service agents and a sheriff's deputy shot and killed a man outside President Donald Trump's Florida home.
It happened early Sunday morning.
Authorities say that man broke through a security perimeter outside President Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, carrying a shotgun and a gas can.
Trump was hundreds of miles away at the time.
Federal investigators are trying to figure out why a North Carolina man showed up outside the president's Florida estate carrying a gas can and brandishing a shotgun.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (PBSO) says it happened around 1:30 a.m.
Two Secret Service agents and a sheriff's deputy confronted the man who entered the secure area around Mar-a-Lago.
"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," said Ric Bradshaw with PBSO.
Law enforcement sources told NBC News the suspect is 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin. He died at the scene.
Martin's family reported him missing earlier on Saturday.
The Secret Service said no one it protects was at Mar-a-Lago at the time.
"We want to be clear the President of the United States was not in the state of Florida, and this remains an active investigation by the FBI," said Rafael Barros, Special Agent in Charge of the Secret Service Miami Field Office.
Trump stayed in Washington over the weekend, hosting Republican governors at the White House a few hours before the shooting.
"I invite everyone in this room to bring forward ideas and opportunities to better serve our people, and in turn, never hesitate to let us know if there's anything we can do for you," the president expressed.
The president spent much of the weekend dealing with the fallout from Friday's Supreme Court decision ruling many of the tariffs he's imposed on foreign imports are illegal.
In response, Trump said Saturday he is now raising global tariffs to 15% under a different law.
