The US Secret Service shot and killed an armed man
early Sunday as he attempted to enter President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club
in Florida.
According to the Secret Service, the suspect was carrying a
shotgun and a gas canister when he breached the secure perimeter near the
property’s north gate around 1:30 a.m. ET. Trump, who maintains a residence at
the Palm Beach estate, was at the White House at the time of the incident.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw said at a press
briefing that a deputy and two Secret Service agents responded after the man
entered the restricted area.
“They confronted a white male who was carrying a gas
can and a shotgun,” Bradshaw said. “He was ordered to drop the items. He put
down the gas can but raised the shotgun into a shooting position.”
At that point, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents
opened fire, fatally wounding the suspect. Authorities said the man was in his
early 20s. His identity is being withheld pending notification of his family.
The FBI has launched an investigation into the shooting.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the
Secret Service “acted quickly and decisively” in response to the threat. She
also criticized Democrats over the partial government shutdown, which has
affected the Department of Homeland Security, the agency that oversees the
Secret Service.
The Department of Homeland Security has been closed for more
than a week amid a funding dispute. Democrats have called for changes to the
department’s immigration enforcement practices before approving further
funding, following the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in
Minneapolis.
The incident comes after previous threats against Trump. In
July 2024, a gunman opened fire from a rooftop during a campaign rally in
Butler, Pennsylvania, before being killed by a Secret Service sniper.
Two months later, another suspect was arrested after
allegedly lying in wait with a rifle outside a golf course where Trump was
playing. He was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

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