Armed man is shot and killed at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach Sheriff says

NPR News · Feb 22, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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A building is seen at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP/AP hide caption toggle caption Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP/AP U.S. Secret Service agents and a deputy with the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office shot and killed a man entering President Trump's private club Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., early Sunday morning, officials said. Trump was in Washington at the time. In a post on X, Karoline Leavitt, the White House spokeswoman, praised the Secret Service's action: "In the middle of the night while most Americans were asleep, the United States Secret Service acted quickly and decisively to neutralize a crazy person, armed with a gun and a gas canister, who intruded President Trump's home." "Federal law enforcement are working 24/7 to keep our country safe and protect all Americans," she wrote. "It's shameful and reckless that Democrats have chosen to shut down their Department." Democrats are negotiating with the White House on a deal to reopen the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, and has been without funding for more than a week, in exchange for changes to immigration enforcement operations. Earlier, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters the man — described to be in his early 20s — made it to the "inner perimeter" of Mar-a-Lago with a shotgun and gas can before agents stopped him. "They confronted a white male that was carrying a gas can and a shotgun," Bradshaw said. "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." Two Secret Service agents and a sheriff's deputy then fired on and killed the man, Bradshaw said. The man died at the scene. Secret Service Communications Director Anthony Guglielmi said in a post that no agents or officers were injured, and no one the Secret Service protects was present at Mar-a-Lago during the shooting. Officials did not identify the man who was shot and killed. The FBI is leading the investigation.