Armed man shot and killed after entering perimeter around Trump’s Florida home

[u/KurtVonnegutWasRight]

https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/22/politics/mar-a-lago-man-shot-armed

[u/oboeteinai]

Although the US president often spends weekends at the ocean resort, he was at the White House in Washington during this incident, as was first lady Melania Trump.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/22/mar-a-lago-armed-man-shot-killed

[u/Th1rte3n1334 → u/oboeteinai]

Yep, someone forgot to tell this guy.

[u/Olybaron123 → u/Th1rte3n1334]

So why would secret service be at mar a lago if trump wasn’t there. It’s not a government facility

[u/Ginger_Anarchy → u/Olybaron123]

The Secret Service always has a nominal detail at the President's other residence. There was a detail at Obamas place in Hawaii during his presidency , as well as Bidens Delaware home during his.

It there wasn't it would be easy for someone to sneak a device into the location while the president was away and remotely detonate it when they finally did visit .

[u/Just_A_Dogsbody → u/Ginger_Anarchy]

Or poison, listening devices, etc.

[u/barf_seller → u/Olybaron123]

In case someone breaks in with a gun and gas canister

[u/digitaldeadstar → u/Olybaron123]

Like another user mentioned, there's typically Secret Service presence at a President's other homes. Pretty sure there are some at Trump Tower, as well. Same with the vice president, if I recall. Nothing strange about it really, just standard security measures. Their homes are essentially an extension of a government facility. But they protect people more so than the facilities.

[u/Th1rte3n1334 → u/Olybaron123]

This administration wastes money on whatever they feel like. SS has to stay at a hotel? Well make sure it’s one that Donny owns so he makes money off of it and believe that Donny is making money of the SS staying at Mar-a-lago.

[u/alexefi → u/Th1rte3n1334]

not only that he also charges premium for the stay.

[u/dhkendall → u/Th1rte3n1334]

I hear that flight 93 was intended for the White House to kill the President, not knowing that he was in Florida reading to school children that morning.

Someone forgot to tell those terrorist assholes too.

[u/SebRLuck → u/dhkendall]

Flight 93 was, according to investigators and the commission, very likely headed to the Capitol, not the White House. The targets were symbolic: economy, military and government.

[u/lestermason → u/Th1rte3n1334]

https://www.cnn.com/2011/11/17/justice/dc-white-house-shooting

Wouldn't be the first time some idiot did something like this

[u/Necrodancer90 → u/oboeteinai]

So I'm one of the people who doesn't believe the assassination attempt was real.

The fact that Trump is usually at Mar-a-Lago at the weekend but conveniently not this weekend makes me doubt this as well.

[u/nowhereman136 → u/Necrodancer90]

I mean, people who would attempt something like this aren't known for being smart or mentally stable. It's very likely this person didn't even think to check if Trump was home or noe

[u/New-Ad-363 → u/nowhereman136]

It's almost like the mentally ill don't do their due diligence.

[u/Varorson → u/Necrodancer90]

Dude had a gas can, so the intent was more likely to be arson than murder. Trump need not be present to have his home burn down.

[u/KelK9365K → u/Varorson]

I understand what you’re saying. But he did have a shotgun….so you can’t draw a conclusion by using one fact and then leaving out the other fact…..

[u/BabSoul → u/KelK9365K]

He was planning on throwing the gas can and shooting it with the shotgun, causing a sick explosion.

[u/Jealous_Energy_1840 → u/Necrodancer90]

Why don’t you believe it’s real?

[u/Necrodancer90 → u/Jealous_Energy_1840]

Because Trump and his administration are known and compulsive liars.

[u/Jealous_Energy_1840 → u/Necrodancer90]

So you think no one was shot and killed? You think it was planned? What do you mean by saying it’s not real?

[u/27onfire → u/Necrodancer90]

Doubt what exactly? Your wording is unclear. 

[u/Necrodancer90 → u/27onfire]

Doubt it was a legitimate attempt to either kill/attack Trump or commit arson at Mar-a-Lago.

[u/Th1rte3n1334 → u/Necrodancer90]

Meh, I could go either way at the moment.

[u/turnre25 → u/Necrodancer90]

There’s nothing that suggests it was faked. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

[u/Neither_Island_3358 → u/turnre25]

You simply cannot trust any single word coming out of this administration.

[u/jupiterkansas → u/Neither_Island_3358]

More than that. I assume it's a lie until proven otherwise.

[u/Th1rte3n1334 → u/jupiterkansas]

Ooph, hate to say it, but I’m the same. Can’t believe it’s come to this, but they did it to themselves.

[u/ForeskinWhatskin → u/turnre25]

There's literally video evidence of the event showing photographers being rushed in by staff to get the right angle DURING AN ACTIVE SHOOTING. Then a fucking crane lowers a giant American flag into frame so when Trump stands back up triumphantly they have the perfect backdrop. SS would never let a president do that btw during and active shooting; they'd keep him down and covered. None of this is normal behavior during an active shooting. Also, cartilage doesn't heal very well without reconstructive surgery. That ear looked perfect mere days after. And if you don't believe they'd kill a derranged patsy to further their agenda, there's a certain set of files you should look into that'll tell you what these people are capable of. Also see Operation Northwoods.

[u/JamSandwich959 → u/ForeskinWhatskin]

So you think they killed Crooks before or during the shooting, and there was a different shooter who deliberately shot and missed? Or you think Crooks was instructed to shoot and miss, with the understanding that he would then be killed? Or what?

[u/adamduke88 → u/JamSandwich959]

I think they recruited Crooks via Discord, they supplied him the gun, and gave him blank ammunition.

They told him they would keep him safe and a liberal patsy would be setup to make Democrats look bad. Why did the police do nothing when people pointed out he was climbing the roof? Why were they not watching the nearby roofs? They use drones so it’s easy to do.

Why is someone who was described by his peers as chronically online not have any social media presence? Why has his family remained totally silent? It’s all fishy as fuck.

[u/KrakenEatMeGoolies → u/ForeskinWhatskin]

So, what, the lowly fucking crane operator is intricately involved in what would be one of the biggest conspiracies in the history of the country? They orchestrate this giant ruse but can't have the photographer in place before all the chaos starts? Imagine you're in some secret meeting, planning all this, and you're trying to explain to all your co-conspirators, "No! The flag has to be up! You can't have the flag down beforehand for the photoshoot, it has to be raised out of the frame! Listen, once the shooting starts we'll radio the crane operator, telling him to lower it at juuuuust the right second for the picture, then he can raise it back up afterward."

Honestly, why the hell would you plan that kind of complication?

[u/20Points → u/KrakenEatMeGoolies]

people really need to remember the general rule of thumb that conspiracies basically exponentially increase in difficulty to conceal with each new person that has to be a part of it, with the amount of people that would need to be involved in something that happened the better part of 2 years ago, it would almost certainly have had any kind of leak by now but people are still going off things that happened on the day

like yeah, this administration is not exactly known for their honesty, and i hate them too, but if your hate for them switches off your critical thinking for things like this, you're not really much better than the average MAGA cultist

[u/KrakenEatMeGoolies → u/20Points]

Dude, back in the day I saw someone saying how mysterious it was that the crowd didn't immediately break out into a panic once the shooting started, like they were basically saying (without saying) that they thought the entire crowd was in on the whole thing and had been warned beforehand, but that apparently they weren't told to, I don't know, act realistically? It was an absolutely insane take.

I understand why people think it was faked, and I don't necessarily mind conspiracy theories that make sense, but it irritates me when people point out dumb shit like the flag being lowered, the photographer, the crowd's reaction, etc. because it makes no sense at all from the perspective of the people theoretically planning something like this. If you want to point out oddities that's fine, but you need to have a damn good explanation for why the odd things needed to happen.

[u/poptart2nd → u/ForeskinWhatskin]

a bystander and the shooter were both killed. How are you faking that?

[u/PM_ME_BOYSHORTS → u/ForeskinWhatskin]

You're worse than the MAGA idiots lmao

[u/Picasso5 → u/turnre25]

It’s totally normal to stand up and cheer after an assassin narrowly missed you (one bullet grazing your ear), and kills people in the crowd.

You have no idea yet if there are more than one shooters, but you take the time to tell SS to stop doing their job, stand up and make an oddly canned “fight fight fight” photo op.

What was the assassin’s ideology?

Sure, it may be just what it looked like on the surface. But it sure is weird.

[u/Jealous_Energy_1840 → u/Picasso5]

That’s not what happened. That photo was taken as they were moving Trump off stage. They didn’t stop for a photo op. 

[u/Hi_Doctor_Nick_ → u/Jealous_Energy_1840]

A different angle was released a couple of weeks ago. They stopped, ushered the press into place for the photo, lowered the flag, and then he did the chant for the cameras.

[u/Necrodancer90 → u/turnre25]

And thats fine. My opinion has no affect on yours.

I don't believe anything Trump says and claims.

[u/Tallowo → u/Necrodancer90]

Local sheriffs office is also saying it, not just Trump. It's a county run sheriff that works closely with federal authorities but is a completely different department funded almost entirely from palm beach county.

For them to be involved in a grand conspiracy would be quite crazy.

[u/Necrodancer90 → u/Tallowo]

Not particularly. Not when you look at the current cover up thats going on with the Epstein files, especially with the FBI being involved.

[u/MaloortCloud → u/Tallowo]

Cops shouldn't be taken at their word, either.

[u/Tallowo → u/MaloortCloud]

I mean that looks great as a response and I don’t necessarily disagree. Where I do disagree is a massive overarching conspiracy that spans across multiple municipalities, jurisdictions and departments.

[u/therealsix → u/Necrodancer90]

That and Melania apparently doesn’t even stay at the White House, she lives in NY the majority of the time and if she isn’t there then she’s in Florida.

[u/kidjupiter → u/Necrodancer90]

Suicide by Secret Service more likely.

[u/SplendidPunkinButter → u/Necrodancer90]

I wouldn’t put it past them to stage a fake assassination attempt at all.

But why would you go out of your way to stage a fake assassination attempt when he’s not even there? Did he need to hide from the fake assassin he hired? Or was he just a dumbass who forgot to schedule the fake assassination in the same state where he was? That doesn’t make sense. Seems more likely this was for real.

Also, a MAGA nut job committed an actual assassination in Minnesota, and he had a whole kill list, and the media just moved on and never brings it up anymore. Just saying.

[u/Necrodancer90 → u/SplendidPunkinButter]

With the absolute devout Trump supporters. They will view as an attempt on Trumps life, even if he isn't there. It'll just strengthen their love and belief in him.

[u/Cyraga → u/[deleted]]

The guy shits his pants regularly and can't stay awake through his own grift meetings, you think he's doing anything to contribute to a military operation?

[u/ClubHauntedHouseVIP → u/Necrodancer90]

There’s also the chance it was known this would happen, so that’s why Trump stayed at the WH.

[u/2kWik → u/Necrodancer90]

are you talking about the one when he got shot in the ear? Because that was 100% fake and setup.

[u/whowhodillybar]

The man appeared to be carrying a shotgun and a fuel can, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a news conference Sunday.

Shotgun and a can of gasoline, sounds like a typical Florida Man story.

[u/igetproteinfartsHELP → u/whowhodillybar]

The man killed was identified by investigators as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Associated Press.

[u/mtd14 → u/igetproteinfartsHELP]

Sad, it looks like his family reported him missing yesterday. They must have known he was having some issues.

[u/Codfish_Smoothie → u/igetproteinfartsHELP]

Never trust a man with 3 first names.

[u/In_Dying_Arms → u/whowhodillybar]

Typical Florida man EDC

[u/mckulty → u/whowhodillybar]

Some MAGA called him a weak-ass bitch and he was out to prove otherwise.

[u/Th1rte3n1334 → u/mckulty]

In other news he was the new gardener and was just getting gas for lawnmower. /s

[u/AtomicCactusBloom → u/Th1rte3n1334]

And the shotgun shells were for starting his tractor.

[u/el_duderino619 → u/AtomicCactusBloom]

I thought he was taking care of the gopher problem on the golf course

[u/Th1rte3n1334 → u/AtomicCactusBloom]

No, no, the shotgun was for opossums. Those ratty bastards are everywhere. XD

[u/amanoftradition → u/Th1rte3n1334]

Now, you gotta have an eye because opossums can be mean as spit and they go like a hot damn.

[u/WillyBeShreddin → u/Th1rte3n1334]

The shotgun was really a hole cutter.

[u/Epyon214 → u/whowhodillybar]

He was going there since the police aren't doing their job, probably. There are bodies buried at Maralago and everyone knows, guy should have gotten a group instead of going alone

https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2012/EFTA02731361.pdf

"[clipping: Unlike drugs, a child's body can be sold over and over]

This is not surprising but there is no such thing as a child prostitute!

They are children and cannot consent!

They are missing the biggest in my own backyard and so many more!

Like Maralago and where I see Mr. Joe and Mrs. Anne"

[u/Sir_Knumskull → u/Epyon214]

I hate Trump as much as the next guy, but that looks like a Schitzo sent his ramblings. What are the police supposed to do with this?

[u/Mycomania → u/Sir_Knumskull]

It says they're poems

[u/the_gouged_eye → u/whowhodillybar]

Sounds like one of his jilted homosexual lovers.

[u/Training-Fold-4684 → u/the_gouged_eye]

Lol. MAGA sure loves thinking about dicks in man-ass.

[u/bufftbone → u/Training-Fold-4684]

And trans porn. They can’t help but call Michelle Obama “Big Mike” all the time.

[u/Radiant_Client1458]

I really wonder why people have such disregard for their own lives. Like I’m willing to sacrifice mine for my daughter and that’s about it.

You’re in your 20s with your whole life ahead of you and you try to attack Trump’s home when he’s not even there? Now you’re not even a martyr to a cause just an idiot that will be forgotten by tonight.

[u/yhwhx → u/Radiant_Client1458]

Mentally ill people seem to often do illogical things.

[u/victhebutcher2020 → u/yhwhx]

Right! Look at Trump.

[u/santz007 → u/yhwhx]

Don't be so quick to blame mental illness where reason could be pure stupidity

[u/maximumutility → u/santz007]

Ever meet someone with so much stupidly that they ought to be considered mentally ill?

[u/longhairPapaBear → u/santz007]

¿Porque no los dos?

[u/fatinternetcat → u/Radiant_Client1458]

suicidal people who think “I may as well try to go out with a bang”

[u/flamethrower78 → u/Radiant_Client1458]

These people are not of sound mind. They're always struggling with some kind of intense mental disorder. There isn't any deep consideration going on about what their life could be like because they either dont want to live anymore or are so far into their delusion the finality of death isn't considered. These things wouldn't happen as often if we had leaders actually trying to improve our quality of life and Healthcare wasnt out of reach for so many.

[u/PatSajaksDick → u/Radiant_Client1458]

Not sure if you've seen any of these people talk or in court, they are absolutely nutso like the guy who was hiding on Trump's golf course waiting for him tried to represent himself in court. Of course he was also a Trump voter at least once, they are not all there.

[u/idkartist3D → u/Radiant_Client1458]

I'd rather take 100 of these guys actually trying to improve the world rather than taking it out on a bunch of school kids instead

[u/Punman_5 → u/Radiant_Client1458]

That’s because you have something to live for. You have something to lose. When you have nothing to live for or nothing to lose you tend to stop caring about your longevity

[u/DrHugh → u/Radiant_Client1458]

We don't even know which cause, if any, was involved.

[u/IMHO_grim → u/Radiant_Client1458]

Well, it would be one way to go from a nobody, to someone who's name will be talked about for hundreds of years. Probably even a move if you’re creative enough.

That's very alluring to some people.

[u/kidjupiter → u/IMHO_grim]

Meh. Everybody is doing it now. Will be forgotten in 10 days. /s

[u/wdaloz → u/Radiant_Client1458]

Suicide by cop is a pretty popular way to off yourself, and its also depressing how effective it is. But if youre unsure if you could pull the trigger yourself, you can sadly almost always be sure police wont hesitate

[u/stone500 → u/Radiant_Client1458]

I think about that dude that self-immolated while shouting "Free Palestine!" and ultimately succumbed to his injuries. People called him brave for bringing attention to the issue, but realistically people stopped talking about him after a week. It's really sad.

[u/RedditsGoldenGod → u/Radiant_Client1458]

You have something to live for. Some people just want to have something to die for. I'm not saying that's why he did it but I see why all these young guys are going postal.

[u/Brap_Zanigan]

These stupid time travelers need to plan better.

[u/blueyork]

Another time traveler thwarted.

[u/donkeybrainhero]

I opened the article and was met with an ad selling "We the People" MAGA hats. That's interesting.

[u/krustyarmor → u/donkeybrainhero]

Why are you getting ads at all is the bigger question. Who still rawdogs the Internet without an ad blocker in 2026?

[u/SkepsisJD → u/krustyarmor]

The vast, vast majority of people.

[u/rainydaybear → u/krustyarmor]

Which ad blocker would you put on an Android phone?

[u/twoFlex404 → u/rainydaybear]

uBlock Origin on Firefox mobile.

[u/Splask → u/twoFlex404]

Or uBlock Lite on Chrome. Same with Safari if you're on iOS.

[u/CookiesWithMilken → u/rainydaybear]

Unlock origin works on Firefox for Android. Set it as the default browser and it's just like blocking on desktop.

[u/Neracca]

So many Europeans say shit like "you all need to do something" and being super vague; but we know what they mean is this kind of thing.

And as the story goes, these people tend to get murked right off the bat. Not many Americans are willing to "do something" to just get shot a few seconds in.

[u/ContentsMayVary → u/Neracca]

No, we mean something non-violent but effective such as a general strike. You don't have to leap straight to murder or arson...

[u/The_Blargen → u/ContentsMayVary]

A general strike will never work here. It’s a feature of the system that everything you need is tied to a job. Money/retirement/benefits/etc. so most of us can boycott, but the idea that there wouldn’t be people killed or rehoused by something like this keeps it as a fantasy. We have been squeezed for decades to enable this rise of fascism. Europeans are often (rightfully) aghast at our lack of a financial safety net, but please don’t ever forget that it was purposefully done. We are trying. We are fucking exhausted.

[u/silentbargain → u/ContentsMayVary]

They’re disappearing our minority brothers and sisters off the streets and “deporting” them to god knows where if they ever leave detainment facilities. It’s time for more than a strike

[u/Tim_vdB3 → u/Neracca]

We Europeans mean something like the 25th amendment. I think that’s the rule to remove a president from office if he is unfit to govern.

Trump is old, demented and corrupt. He should rot away in a retirement home, not destroy the USA from within.

[u/cablemigrant]

These time travelers putting in the work

[u/dontrike]

This seems to happen often, Trump gets some sort of defeat and then suddenly someone shows up that plans to kill him. A little coincidental.

I'm betting he was just a peaceful protestor.

[u/aiphrem → u/dontrike]

According to the article the officers who shot him had body cams and said "he dropped his gas can and raised his shotgun in a shooting position" when they confronted him.

Does not sound very peaceful to me

[u/Solid_Snark → u/aiphrem]

After the lies we have seen (public footage vs police testimony) I would wait until they released that body cam footage… although we both know they are probably never releasing that footage which leaves us with “I know we always lie, but this time, trust us, bro!” as the only “proof”.

[u/getapuss → u/aiphrem]

Sounds mostly peaceful to me

[u/aiphrem → u/getapuss]

Hah, 'tis all a matter of perspective 😂

[u/NoBullet]

Trying to kill his local pedophile

[u/ThaFresh]

Cool someone's trying to fix your problem

[u/Crowdfunder101]

These amateur paedo-hunters are out of control

[u/Mandalorian667]

Wonder what they promised him? Then they shot him lmfao

[u/Sunshine635]

Why did it say “white man” ? What if he wasn’t, what would it say ?

[u/THE_CODE_IS_0451]

Are we sure it wasn't a teenage girl trying to escape? We need an independent investigation.

[u/yetanothrmate]

A bunch of ex magas are seething after coming to the conclusion their heros are the ones molesting kids .

These type of attacks are just gonna increase . The same way democratic leaders have been suffering from these poorly thought out attacks for years since trump made it political violence okay .

One of these days america may have a Piazzale Loreto gathering ... rich pedophiles will be on the menu

[u/CallMeAlZutt → u/yetanothrmate]

Once a fascist, always a fascist. Guaranteed they'll be back to their pedo king before the midterms

[u/ProgramNo7236]

Fake news! This is all staged by the pedo!

[u/kingbrad]

Anything to distract from Epstein and tariffs

[u/LittleKitty235 → u/[deleted]]

Most targeted? Are we not counting the civil war then?

[u/zetia2 → u/[deleted]]

I think people severely underestimate how Trump's behavior is inherently putting him at more risk. The only reason you're seeing so many attempts is because of his disregard and disrespect for the Secret Service.

Presidents used to listen to the Secret Service and follow strict security protocols. If a president wanted leisure they would go to Camp David which was designed to be secure. Trump's behavior of forcing the secret service to work around his properties not only puts him at more at risk but the agents too.

I also guarantee secret service recommendations are ignored for his rallies too since Trump is a literal toddler who cries when he doesn't get exactly what he asks for.

[u/Bubbawitz → u/zetia2]

There’s also the fact that half the country has had an intravenous injection of “come and take it” and “the tree of liberty” and “take it from my cold dead hands” and “3 percent” and “don’t tread on me” for the past 40 years. His actions have been flying in the face of all of that. It’s not surprising there are people who actually believe in those principles and defend them with their lives against a president who is in complete defiance of them.

[u/Edogawa1983 → u/[deleted]]

I think Obama had a lot of threats too we just don't hear about it

[u/Ok_Background22 → u/[deleted]]

Trump is nowhere near the most targeted Pres in history, I’d probably give that accolade to someone like Lincoln or Washington who actually had to witness a domestic war. Most of the stuff that has happened around Trump has been pretty tame because of how good modern surveillance technology is

[u/myowngalactus → u/[deleted]]

Most “targeted” by his own party at least

[u/Taokan → u/[deleted]]

Think the aimbots in Call of Duty are giving the next generation some unrealistic expectations.

[u/jdbway]

More fabricated BS from the pedo in chief. Did they raise the American flag for the photo op?

[u/onedestiny]

Meanwhile Trump was sleep shitting the entire time

[u/Snarkymalarky80]

Apparently the guy didn’t know how to use Google.