Mar-a-Lago gunman Austin Tucker Martin slipped through employee exit gate in alarming security breach as new details emerge

It was revealed on Monday that the 21-year-old suspect, who broke into Mar-a-Lago while carrying a shotgun and a gas canister, slipped through the exit door and entered the club as employees were leaving.

Austin Tucker Martin was shot and killed by Secret Service agents at President Trump’s beach club on Sunday after he refused to drop his gun and allegedly raised it into a firing position.

A Secret Service spokesman confirmed that Martin entered the facility through a door that was opened as workers at Mar-a-Lago were trying to leave.

Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw previously said he entered the resort through a different entrance, near the north gate.

The Secret Service observed Martin walking through the employee exit door when the incident occurred.

The Daily Mail reached out to the FBI for comment after taking over the investigation.

Martin was killed after entering Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida, with a gas can and a shotgun around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, according to the Secret Service.

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

A Secret Service spokesman confirmed that Martin entered the facility through a door that was opened as workers at Mar-a-Lago were trying to leave.

He pointed the rifle at them and was quickly neutralized by the police.

Martin was reported missing by his family and was believed to have retrieved the shotgun while heading south.

A spokesman said a box containing the gun was found in Martin’s car, which his family identified as a 2013 silver Volkswagen Tiguan.

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

family he said Facebook Martin was last heard from before 8 p.m. Saturday, after leaving his $1.1 million home in Cameron, North Carolina, around 1 p.m., he said.

‘This doesn’t look like him at all,’ his devastated aunt wrote.

Martin lived with his family in a secluded, rural house, and an Instagram account linked to him showed that the young man was fond of drawing golf courses in his spare time.

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

The Secret Service observed Martin walking through the employee exit door when the incident occurred.

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

‘We’re all big Trump supporters. Everybody,” Fields said, but his cousin “was really quiet, wouldn’t really talk about anything.”

Unnamed colleagues said Martin was also a Trump supporter and expressed his belief in Trump late last year. TMZ.

But a text message uncovered by the outlet suggests Martin may have been influenced by the Justice Department’s release of files on dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

President Trump has never been accused of involvement in any crimes involving Epstein and has long said he cut ties with the financier 20 years ago.

Colleagues said Martin, who is open about his Christian faith, focused on the Epstein saga and would talk about elites ‘getting away with it’.

They also described him as increasingly frustrated with the state of the U.S. economy and trying fruitlessly to form a union at work.

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

US Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt wrote: X: ‘At midnight, while most Americans were asleep, the United States Secret Service took swift and decisive action to neutralize a crazed individual armed with a gun and a gas canister who broke into President Trump’s home.

Showing a picture of the shotgun, police said he refused to drop the gun and brought the gun into firing position before the Secret Service agent fired, neutralizing the threat.

Donald Trump: ‘There’s a lot of people pulling guns on me, right?’ says during a White House event with angel families on Monday, February 23, 2026

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

The President and First Lady Melania Trump were not at their 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 to see if there was any content that could help investigators.

The cause of the breach remains unclear as law enforcement continues to investigate. When asked if Martin was known to police, Bradshaw said ‘not at the moment’.

The incident occurred just a few miles from the West Palm Beach club where a man tried to assassinate Trump while he was golfing during the 2024 election campaign.

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

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

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

Five days ago, a Georgia man armed with a shotgun was arrested as he ran toward the west side of the U.S. Capitol.

Trump spoke for the first time since a gunman was shot and killed after breaching the perimeter of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be around,” Trump said. ‘There’s a lot of people using guns for me, aren’t there?’