PALM BEACH, FL – A 21-year-old North Carolina man was shot and killed by Secret Service and local law enforcement after breaching the perimeter of Mar-a-Lago resort early Sunday morning while carrying a shotgun and gas canister, authorities said.
Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina was confronted by security at approximately 1:30 a.m. after Mar-a-Lago personnel detected that an individual had penetrated the inner perimeter of the resort. When security investigated, they encountered Martin carrying a gas can and shotgun, according to police reports.
The incident occurred while former President Donald Trump was in Washington, D.C., and not at the Florida resort. Martin was pronounced dead at the scene following the confrontation with law enforcement.
Martin’s family had reported him missing to the Moore County Sheriff’s Office at approximately 1:38 a.m. Sunday, nearly the same time as the Mar-a-Lago incident. A relative approached a deputy at a local business to file the missing person report, according to the sheriff’s office.
Martin’s cousin, Braeden Fields, told ABC affiliate WTVD that the family are “big Trump supporters” and that Martin had never shown interest in politics or firearms. “He doesn’t even know how to use a gun. He’s never used a gun,” Fields said, describing his cousin as “very quiet” and inexperienced with weapons.
Fields said Martin worked at a golf course preparing it for the season and would send his paychecks to charity. A website registered to Martin showed artwork featuring watercolor and ink paintings of golf courses, with the company describing its focus on “bringing to life the hopeful feeling of being on a golf course.”
“I’m a big hunter, and I’ve had him around guns all the time, and he’s never used one,” Fields told reporters. “The only gun he’s used is a BB gun.” He added that Martin’s older brother serves in the military but that Martin himself had no interest in weapons.
Federal agents conducted a search of the family’s property in North Carolina following the incident. Martin was entered into the national missing person database when his family reported him missing, but the case information has since been turned over to federal investigators.
Fields described the family as devastated by the incident and said Martin’s mother is “torn apart” by what happened. “If no one really knew him, you wouldn’t get him,” Fields said. “He’s a good kid.”
