A man in his early 20s was shot and killed Sunday after attempting to enter a restricted area at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida, the U.S. Secret Service said. Trump was in Washington at the time of the incident.

According to a statement from the Secret Service, agents and a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office confronted the man after he entered the secured perimeter carrying what officials described as “what appeared to be a shotgun and a fuel can.” During the encounter, law enforcement officers opened fire, killing him.

Authorities said the man’s name has not yet been made public due to “pending notification of next of kin.”

Detailing the confrontation, the agency said: “U.S. Secret Service agents and a PBSO deputy confronted the individual and shots were fired by law enforcement during the encounter,” the Secret Service statement said. “No U.S. Secret Service or PBSO personnel were injured.”

Officials identified the suspect as a North Carolina resident in his early 20s who had recently been reported missing by family members. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said investigators believe the man left North Carolina and traveled south, obtaining a shotgun along the way.

Guglielmi added that the firearm’s box was later recovered inside the suspect’s vehicle.

Investigators said the man drove through the north gate of the Mar-a-Lago property while another vehicle was exiting. He was quickly intercepted by Secret Service agents. After confronting the armed individual, agents shot him. Authorities are now working to assemble a psychological profile, and his motive remains under investigation.

Trump has previously been the target of threats and assassination attempts. On July 13, 2024, he was injured when a gunman opened fire during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In a separate incident on Sept. 15, 2024, a man armed with a rifle was apprehended after lying in wait near Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach while the president was playing. That individual was sentenced to life in prison earlier this month.

The shooting at Mar-a-Lago comes amid a broader pattern of political violence across the United States in recent years. Last year alone saw the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the killing of the Democratic leader of the Minnesota state House and her husband, the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife, and an arson attack at the official residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Saturday’s breach at Trump’s Florida residence occurred just a few miles from his West Palm Beach golf club, where another assassination attempt unfolded during the 2024 election season. In that case, a Secret Service agent spotted a man, later identified as Ryan Routh, aiming a rifle through bushes before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, prompting him to drop the weapon.

Routh was convicted last year and received a life sentence earlier this month.

That episode had followed the earlier Pennsylvania rally shooting in which a gunman fired eight rounds, one of which grazed Trump’s ear. The attacker was subsequently killed by a Secret Service counter sniper.

{Matzav.com}