U.S. Air Force fighter jets intercepted an aircraft that violated a temporary flight restriction by flying over President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Sunday, according to NORAD.
This marked the second time in 48 hours that F-16s from the Continental U.S. NORAD region had responded to airspace violations over Palm Beach, Fla., North American Aerospace Defense Command said in a statement.
“NORAD has responded to over 20 tracks of interest entering the Palm Beach, Florida TFR area” since Trump’s presidential inauguration on Jan. 20, the statement noted further.
The fighters launched flares that were likely visible to the general public during the intercept “to draw attention from or communicate with the pilot” of the civilian aircraft, NORAD added.
Flares “burn out quickly and completely, and pose no danger to people on the ground,” the statement added.
The incident on Sunday took place while Trump was at his Palm Beach golf course, the White House press pool report said.
“Adherence to TFR procedures is essential to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the President,” said Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command.
“The procedures are not optional, and the excessive number of recent TFR violations indicates many civil aviators are not reading Notice to Airmen, or NOTAMs, before each flight as required by the FAA, and has resulted in multiple responses by NORAD fighter aircraft to guide offending aircraft out of the TFR,” he added.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Secret Service shot an armed man during a confrontation near the White House on Sunday, the agency said in a release, noting that the incident occurred just after midnight.
Officers encountered the armed man about a block away from the White House on the west side of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Fox News reported.
In a statement, the agency explained that on Saturday, police had provided information about a suicidal individual who was believed to be traveling to Washington, D.C., from Indiana.
At approximately midnight, Secret Service members discovered a parked car matching the man’s description near 17th and F Streets, NW, and observed a person fitting that description nearby.
“As officers approached, the individual brandished a firearm and an armed confrontation ensued, during which shots were fired by our personnel,” the agency wrote in a statement. “The suspect was rushed to an area hospital and his condition is unknown.”
No Secret Service personnel were injured, the agency said, according to Fox.
The Secret Service stated that the Metropolitan Police Department will lead the investigation into the shooting, as it is the primary agency responsible for use-of-force incidents within the District of Columbia.
Trump was not at the White House during the incident, according to his official schedule. The president was scheduled to depart from his Mar-a-Lago estate later in the day on Sunday and return to Washington, D.C.
The incident comes as Trump announced plans on Friday to release reports on the prior two assassination attempts against him, pledging transparency about the attacks that nearly took his life during the 2024 presidential campaign.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump voiced frustration over the limited information made available to the public and vowed to disclose further details soon.
“It’s been seven months. Why do you think we don’t know more about the guy who shot you in the ear?” Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked Thursday.
“We can no longer blame Biden for that one,” Trump responded. “He should have released that a long time ago. So they are giving me a report next week sometime and I do believe I’ll be releasing. I want to release the report, a lot of people have asked that question.”
Trump was the target of two assassination attempts in 2024. The first took place on July 13 at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania, when 20-year-old gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire from an elevated position 400 feet away. Trump was grazed in the upper right ear, while one attendee was killed and two others sustained critical injuries.
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