Security Breach at Mar-a-Lago: How Gunman Austin Tucker Martin Exploited Employee Exit

The shocking incident involving a 21-year-old suspect at Mar-a-Lago unfolded as new details emerged about how he gained access to the exclusive club. On Monday, it was disclosed that the intruder, carrying a shotgun and a gas canister, managed to enter the premises by slipping through an exit gate used by employees leaving the property.

Austin Tucker Martin met a tragic end when Secret Service agents shot and killed him after he allegedly refused to lower his weapon and appeared to take a threatening stance at President Trump’s resort on Sunday.

The Secret Service confirmed Martin’s unauthorized entry, clarifying that it occurred as an employee gate opened to allow staff to exit. This clarification comes amid earlier reports from Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, who initially suggested Martin had entered near the north gate, a separate entrance to the resort.

Surveillance by the Secret Service picked up Martin’s movements as he approached the club on foot, leading to the fatal confrontation. The incident underscores ongoing concerns about security at high-profile estates.

Secret Service observed Martin entering the gate on foot at the employee exit gate at the time leading up to the incident.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the FBI for comment after they took over the investigation.

Martin was killed at around 1.30am on Sunday at Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida, after entering with a gas can and a shotgun, according to the Secret Service. 

He was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a deputy with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department. 

Gunman Austin Tucker Martin (pictured), who went to Mar-a-Lago with a gun with a shotgun and a gas can, entered the premises through a gate the club’s employees were leaving from

A spokesperson for the Secret Service confirmed that Martin got on the premises through a gate that had opened as workers at Mar-a-Lago were trying to leave

He pointed the shotgun at them, and was quickly neutralized by the officers.  

Martin was reported missing by his family and was believed to have picked up the shotgun on his way down south. 

A spokesperson said that a box for the weapon was found inside Martin’s car, which his family identified as a 2013 silver Volkswagen Tiguan. 

No Secret Service or deputies with the sheriff’s officer were injured. 

His family said on Facebook that Martin was last heard from on Saturday just before 8pm after he left his $1.1million home in Cameron, North Carolina, at around 1pm.

‘This is not like him at all,’ his devastated aunt wrote. 

Martin lived with his parents at the secluded, countryside home – and the young man had a fascination with drawing golf courses in his spare time, an Instagram account linked to him showed.

Braeden Fields, Martin’s cousin, reacted with disbelief, calling Martin ‘quiet’ and saying his family was almost entirely in favor of Trump.

Secret Service observed Martin entering the gate on foot at the employee exit gate at the time leading up to the incident 

Palm Beach Sheriff officers guard the rear entrance of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach

‘We are big Trump supporters, all of us. Everybody,’ Fields said, but his cousin was ‘real quiet, never really talked about anything.’

Martin himself was also allegedly a Trump supporter, expressing his belief in Trump as recently as late last year, anonymous co-workers told TMZ.

However, a text message uncovered by the outlet shows that Martin may have been influenced by the Department of Justice’s release of the files related to dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

President Trump has never been charged with any involvement in any wrongdoing involving Epstein and has long said he cut ties with the financier over 20 years ago. 

Co-workers said that Martin – who was open about his Christian faith – was fixated on the Epstein saga and said he would talk about the elites ‘getting away with it.’ 

They also described him as becoming increasingly frustrated by the state of the US economy and having fruitlessly tried to start a union at his place of work.   

However, Fields described Martin as quiet, afraid of guns and from a family of avid Trump supporters.

US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote on X: ‘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 on the President Trump’s home.

Police, showing an image of the shotgun, say he refused to drop the weapon and brought it to a shooting position before Secret Service agent fired and neutralized the threat

Donald Trump says ‘I have a lot of people gunning for me, don’t I?’ during a White House event with angel families on Monday, February 23, 2026

‘Federal law enforcement are working 24/7 to keep our country safe and protect all Americans. It’s shameful and reckless that Democrats have chosen to shut down their department.’

The president and First Lady Melania Trump were not at the Mar-a-Lago estate over the weekend. Instead, they were both at The White House at the time of the incident.

The FBI asked residents to review home security footage for any content that may help investigators. 

A motive for the breach remains unclear as law enforcement continues to investigate. Bradshaw, when asked if Martin was known by police, said ‘not right now’.

The incident occurred just miles from Trump’s West Palm Beach club where a man tried to assassinate him while he played golf during his 2024 campaign. 

Ryan Routh was spotted hiding in the shrubbery with a rifle by a Secret Service agent. 

The gunman was found guilty last year and sentenced this month to life in prison. 

Trump also survived an assassination attempt at a Butler, Pennsylvania campaign rally. That gunman fired eight shots before being killed by a Secret Service counter sniper.

Five days ago, a Georgia man armed with a shotgun was arrested as he sprinted towards the west side of the US Capitol. 

Trump  spoke out for the first time since an armed man was shot and killed after breaching the perimeter at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club. 

‘I don’t know how long I’ll be around,’ Trump said. ‘I have a lot of people gunning for me, don’t I?’