Suspected gunman identified after being shot dead inside Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
The armed man who US Secret Service agents killed on Sunday, February 22, 2026, after allegedly breaching the secure perimeter of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida has been identified in media reports as Austin Tucker Martin, a 21-year-old illustrator from Cameron, North Carolina.
At a press conference on Sunday morning, Ric Bradshaw, the sheriff of Palm Beach County, said that the suspect was carrying a gas canister and a shotgun.
Although the US president often spends weekends at the oceanfront resort, he, along with first lady Melania Trump, was at the White House in Washington during this incident.
According to the Moore County Sheriff’s officials, Austin’s family in North Carolina had reported him missing in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Officials confronted a white male carrying a shotgun and a gasoline can.
“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,” the sheriff said.
“At that point in time, the deputy and the two Secret Service agents fired their weapons and neutralized the threat. He is deceased at the scene.”
Austin Tucker Martin was Trump’s supporter:
Austin Tucker Martin graduated from Union Pines High School in Cameron, North Carolina, in 2023 and started an artwork company last June that specialized in handmade drawings of golf courses.
As per initial reports, Austin Tucker Martin and his family were Trump’s supporters.
According to sources, the deceased gunmen Austin believed the president was a ‘strong leader,’ but became increasingly concerned by the prospect of a government cover-up and powerful people ‘getting away with it.’
‘Fixated’ on Epstein files:
Martin was “outspoken about his Christian faith and views,” colleagues from Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in North Carolina told TMZ.
He had become fixated on the latest release of millions of documents by the Department of Justice related to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and was deeply concerned by the prospect of a government cover-up and powerful people “getting away with it.”
“I don’t know if you read up on the Epstein Files, but evil is real and unmistakable,” Martin wrote in a text message to a co-worker on February 15, a copy of which was obtained by TMZ.
“The best people like you and I can do is use what little influence we have. Tell other people about what you hear about the Epstein files and what the government is doing about it. Raise awareness.”
‘He wouldn’t even hurt an ant’
Those who knew Martin were shocked to learn of the attempted break-in and shooting.
“He’s a good kid,” his cousin, Braeden Fields, told the Associated Press. “I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing.”
“He wouldn’t even hurt an ant,” Fields added. “He doesn’t even know how to use a gun.”
Fields described Martin’s family as a group of “avid Trump supporters” and said the 21-year-old was “real quiet, never really talked about anything.”
Other sources close to Martin told TMZ he was “well-meaning but increasingly frustrated, particularly about the economy.”
He often complained that young people needed more than one job to survive and had tried to start a union at his workplace to push for better wages.
The motive for the shooting has not been determined yet by investigators, who are being led by the FBI.
Additionally, the latest security breach follows two assassination attempts against Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign.
