Family Says Armed Man Killed at Mar-a-Lago Was Quiet, Avoided Guns

PALM BEACH — Months after a 21-year-old North Carolina man was shot and killed during a security breach at Mar-a-Lago, details from his family continue to raise questions about what brought him to Palm Beach that night.

Austin Tucker Martin was killed early February 22 after authorities say he entered the secure inner perimeter of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property carrying a shotgun and a gas can.

According to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, Martin was confronted by two U.S. Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy and ordered to drop what he was carrying.

Authorities say Martin put down the gas can but raised the shotgun into a shooting position. The agents and deputy opened fire, killing him at the scene.

President Trump was in Washington at the time, and no Secret Service protectees were at the property.

His family describes a very different person

What has made the case particularly difficult for Martin’s family to understand is how different the incident appears from the young man they knew.

His cousin, Braeden Fields, described Martin as quiet, uninterested in politics and uncomfortable around firearms.

Fields told reporters that despite growing up around hunting and guns, Martin generally refused to handle them. He said Martin disliked the noise and had little experience shooting.

The family also described themselves as Trump supporters and said Martin rarely discussed politics.

Martin instead appeared to have a strong interest in golf and art.

He had worked for several years as a groundskeeper at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in North Carolina and had started a small business selling drawings. His artwork included golf courses, buildings and architecture.

Family reported him missing

Another unusual piece of the timeline: Martin's family was trying to find him as the incident unfolded hundreds of miles away.

The Moore County Sheriff’s Office said a relative reported Martin missing at approximately 1:38 a.m. on February 22.

The confrontation at Mar-a-Lago began at roughly 1:30 a.m.

Martin was subsequently entered into a national missing-person database before authorities in North Carolina learned federal investigators were dealing with an incident involving him in Florida.

Investigators also determined that Martin apparently purchased the shotgun during his trip south toward Florida.

The unanswered question: Why?

The FBI took the lead in investigating the shooting and said investigators were reconstructing Martin's journey from North Carolina to Palm Beach County.

That work included examining digital devices, reviewing social-media activity, interviewing people who knew him and attempting to identify his stops, purchases and interactions along the way.

The FBI said establishing a possible motive was a central part of the investigation.

ABC News later reported, citing sources familiar with the investigation, that investigators were examining writings found in Martin's vehicle mentioning the Epstein files as one possible avenue in determining motive. Authorities had not publicly established a definitive motive at that point.

For Martin's family, the circumstances remain difficult to reconcile with the person they knew.

And months after the deadly encounter just down the road in Palm Beach, the biggest question surrounding the case remains the simplest one: What brought a reportedly gun-averse 21-year-old more than 700 miles from North Carolina to the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago with a shotgun and gas can?