Two Secret Service agents and a sheriff’s deputy were involved in the fatal shooting of an armed North Carolina man early Sunday morning after he breached the security perimeter at Mar-a-Lago, officials said. President Trump was not there at the time.
The Secret Service, which is charged with protecting the president and other top government officials, has rarely had fatal encounters during the agency’s 160-year history.
“Our people work day and night to ensure threats never reach the point of confrontation,” said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service. He noted that officials at the agency’s national threat assessment center work to research threat behavior and analyze intelligence. “Each layer is designed to detect, deter and interdict threats at the earliest possible stage.”
Here is a look at past episodes in which Secret Service agents have killed people in encounters.
Feb. 2, 1920: Train platform, New York City
A Secret Service agent shot and killed a man as he tried to board a train at the Harlem station of the New York Central. The man, known as “Big Ed” McGuinness, was impersonating a Secret Service agent in order to board trains, according to news reports at the time.
The Secret Service agent, Earl Moore, told the Mr. McGuinness he was under arrest, and then he ran away. Mr. McGuinness was part of a gang posing as federal agents that had been under investigation for several months for cheating saloon keepers.
Nov. 1, 1950: Blair House, Washington, D.C.
While President Harry Truman was staying temporarily at the Blair House during repairs to the White House residence, two Puerto Rican nationalists seeking to assassinate him shot at the front door. A Secret Service officer, Leslie Coffelt, shot and killed one of the would-be assassins, Griselio Torresola. Mr. Torresola and the other gunman, Oscar Collazo, were looking to bring attention to the Puerto Rican independence movement, at the time, according to the Blair House website.
Mr. Coffelt, who was shot during the assassination attempt, died later that day. He is the only member of the Secret Service who has died protecting a president, according to the White House Historical Association.
April 6, 1973: Tuxedo shop in Detroit
A Secret Service agent shot and killed a man during a raid of a tuxedo rental shop in Detroit, according to an Associated Press report at the time.
July 25, 1976: White House grounds
A Secret Service officer shot and killed a man who had climbed over the fence outside the White House. The man, who was carrying a three-foot metal pipe, was about 60 feet inside the fence when the Secret Service officer killed him with a single gunshot.
President Gerald Ford was inside the residence at the time.
Jan. 14, 1980: Denver office of the Secret Service
A Secret Service agent shot and killed a man who opened fire inside the agency’s Denver field office. The man had previously been committed to a mental institution and in 1979 had tried to climb the White House gate. According to an Associated Press report at the time, the man, Joseph Hugh Ryan, shot and killed a Secret Service agent in the Denver office before another agent killed him.
May 28, 1983: Storage facility in Upland, Calif.
During a counterfeit money investigation, a Secret Service agent shot and killed an armed man from Las Vegas near a mini storage unit in Upland, Calif., where the man was running a phony money scam, according to news reports at the time.
April 20, 2022: Washington home of the Peruvian ambassador
Secret Service officers shot and killed a man who was trying to break into the Northwest Washington home of the Peruvian ambassador.
The Secret Service, which protects diplomatic missions in the Washington region, responded to a call from someone in the ambassador’s home after the suspect smashed several windows. Secret Service officers tried to speak with the man and used a stun gun before they shot him.
July 13, 2024: Presidential rally in Butler, Pa.
A Secret Service countersniper shot and killed a gunman who opened fire at Mr. Trump during an outdoor campaign rally in a suburb of Pittsburgh. The gunman, Thomas Crooks, was hiding on a nearby rooftop when he fired eight shots, killing a rally attendee and injuring Mr. Trump. The episode is considered one of the greatest security lapses in the agency’s history.
March 9, 2025: Near the White House
Secret Service agents shot and killed a man who was a block from the White House and believed to be armed. Mr. Trump was not at the White House at the time.
Agents received information from the Metropolitan Police Department the previous day about a man who wanted to die by “suicide by cop,” a phrase used to describe instances in which a person deliberately draws gunfire from law enforcement. It was later determined that the man was not armed.
Kitty Bennett contributed research.
Eileen Sullivan is a Times reporter covering the changes to the federal work force under the Trump administration.
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