A Moore County man previously reported to be missing was shot and killed early Sunday after he reportedly breached the secure perimeter of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, federal officials said.
Austin Tucker Martin, 21, of Cameron, reportedly died after Secret Service agents and a deputy with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office opened fire when he entered the restricted area.
The president and first lady were in Washington at the time of the incident.
Martin allegedly drove into the secure perimeter as another vehicle was exiting the property, the Associated Press reports. Authorities said he had a gas can and a shotgun.
Investigators believe Martin left North Carolina, traveled south, and obtained a shotgun along the way, Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the United States Secret Service, said.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said in a statement: “He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with them. At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position.”
In Moore County, the Moore County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Martin had been reported missing hours before the shooting.
“The Moore County Sheriff’s Office confirms that on February 22, 2026, at approximately 1:38 a.m., a relative of Austin Tucker Martin approached a deputy at a local business and reported him missing,” confirmed the department in a press release. “He was subsequently entered into a national missing person database.”
The sheriff’s office said federal authorities later notified local officials that they were conducting an active investigation in Florida involving Martin. At their request, information from the missing person case was turned over to federal investigators.
The sheriff’s office said it had no prior history involving Martin before the missing person report and is not involved in the Florida investigation.
“The Moore County Sheriff’s Office is not involved in the Florida investigation, which is being handled by federal authorities. Any questions regarding the shooting or related investigative matters should be directed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Miami Field Office and the United States Secret Service,” states the release.
Officials travel in and out of Martin’s home on Sweinhart Lane in Cameron, Moore County, on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. Videos by Daniel Gwyn/Sandhills Sentinel.
No motive has been announced in the investigation. Martin was a 2023 Union Pines graduate, a landscape artist and worked at Pine Needles and Mid Pines golf courses in Southern Pines.
Feature photo of Martin via Facebook.
Abegail Murphy | Assistant Editor
Article by Sandhills Sentinel assistant editor Abegail Murphy. Abegail has been writing for Sandhills Sentinel since 2021.
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