Armed 21-year-old killed at Mar-a-Lago reportedly did not know how to use a gun

The 21-year-old North Carolina man who was killed Sunday after entering the north gate of Mar-a-Lago with a shotgun and a gas can did not know how to use a gun and comes from a family of Trump supporters, according to his cousin.

Austin Tucker Martin was reported missing in Moore County, North Carolina, early Sunday morning, around the same time that authorities said he crossed the perimeter of President Trump’s Florida estate and was killed in a confrontation with two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy. 

The law enforcement officials told Mr. Martin to drop the shotgun and the gas can, but he only put down the gas can. He “raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” and the officers “fired their weapons and neutralized the threat,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference Sunday. 

Authorities have released little information in the ongoing investigation since then, other than Mr. Martin’s name. 

Mr. Trump was not at Mar-a-Lago during the incident, as he stayed in Washington this past weekend to host a governors’ dinner. 

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deferred questions on the investigation to the FBI.

“Part of the ongoing investigation is to build a timeline of Martin’s movements, stops, purchases, and interactions with other people during his drive from North Carolina to Palm Beach County in addition to attempting to establish a possible motive,” Brett Skiles, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami field office, said in a statement late Monday. 

The FBI said it collected evidence from Mr. Martin’s residence, his vehicle and the scene of the shooting.

The agency has also been conducting interviews with Mr. Martin’s family, friends and acquaintances; canvassing his neighborhood; searching his digital devices; and reviewing his social media activity.

While the incident has yet to be officially characterized as an assassination attempt, Mr. Trump took it as such. 

“I don’t know how long I’ll be around,” he said Monday at a White House event to honor the families of those killed by illegal immigrants. “Got a lot of people gunning for me.”

Mr. Trump survived two assassination attempts during the 2024 presidential campaign. He was shot in the ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July. Another would-be assassin perched outside his West Palm Beach golf club two months later, but the Secret Service spotted him before he could get off a shot. 

On Monday, Mr. Trump referenced assassinated Presidents Lincoln and Kennedy as he said, “all these crazy shooters, they don’t go after non-consequential presidents.”

“So maybe I want to be a little less consequential? Can we hold it back a little bit, please?” he joked. “Can this be a normal presidency for a little while?”

Mr. Bradshaw said Sunday he did not know if Mr. Martin’s shotgun was loaded.

Mr. Martin’s cousin, Braeden Fields, told The Associated Press that the two grew up together and that Mr. Martin seemed afraid of guns. He would never pick one up whenever they’d go hunting or target shooting.

“I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing,” Mr. Fields said. “He wouldn’t even hurt an ant. He doesn’t even know how to use a gun.”

Mr. Fields said his family “are big Trump supporters, all of us.” But he said his cousin did not show an interest in politics and was “real quiet, never really talked about anything.”

Mr. Martin’s coworkers at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club told TMZ that he regularly expressed support for Mr. Trump but had recently become obsessed with the Jeffrey Epstein files and would talk about powerful people “getting away with” covering up the financier’s sex trafficking crimes. 

“I don’t know if you read up on the Epstein Files, but evil is real and unmistakable,” Mr. Martin said in a Feb. 15 text message to a coworker that TMZ obtained. 

“The best people like you and I can do is use what little influence we have,” he said. “Tell other people about what you hear about the Epstein files and what the government is doing about it. Raise awareness.”

The Moore County Sheriff’s Office had no history with Mr. Martin until Sunday, when a relative of his approached a deputy at a local business at approximately 1:38 a.m. to report him missing. 

The Secret Service said the confrontation at Mar-a-Lago in which Mr. Martin was killed occurred around 1:30 a.m.

Cindy Carlyle, a neighbor of the family, told WRAL News that she saw Mr. Martin’s mother go to a gas station to report him missing.

“She had no idea where he was,” Ms. Carlyle said. “She was very upset, and she just made the comment that she had gotten a text from him, you know, saying that, ’I’m okay, I love you.’”

The Moore County Sheriff’s Office had entered Mr. Martin’s information into a national missing person database, which prompted federal authorities to reach out about their investigation in Florida. Martin County officials turned over the missing person’s case file to federal investigators and are not involved in the ongoing probe.

Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said investigators believe Mr. Martin bought his shotgun while driving to Florida.

He said Mr. Martin walked through the north gate of Mar-a-Lago early Sunday when it opened for employees to leave before he was confronted by the two Secret Service agents and a sheriff’s deputy working security.