SUV Breaches 2 Checkpoints Near Trump's Mar-A-Lago Resort

PALM BEACH, FL — A 30-year-old woman will likely face federal and state charges after law enforcement officers opened fire on her rented black SUV late Friday morning near President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort. Officials confirmed the SUV breached two security checkpoints near the main entrance of the Florida resort.

The incident happened at 11:40 a.m, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. The president was not on the property at the time but is expected to arrive Friday night.

"This is not a terrorist thing," Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters. "This is somebody that obviously was impaired somehow and was driving very recklessly, and endangered not only the public, but the law enforcement officers that were there."

Bradshaw identified the driver as Hannah Roehme, who had a Connecticut driver’s license and no apparent criminal history. He said the incident did not appear to be directed toward Mar-a-Lago or the president.

A Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said the black SUV was being chased by Florida Highway Patrol and a sheriff's office helicopter.

"The SUV breached both security checkpoints heading towards the main entrance," the spokesperson said. "Officials ... discharged their firearms at the vehicle."

The sheriff's office said the SUV was subsequently located by authorities and two people were in custody. The second woman was not charged.

That's because Bradshaw said the second woman was not in the SUV when Roehme was first approached by an off-duty Florida Highway Patrol sergeant, who was working a security detail at The Breaker's Resort in Palm Beach.

"She was actually up on top of her car doing some kind of dance," Bradshaw said of Roehme, adding that she ignored a request to roll down her window when she was approached by the trooper outside of the Breakers.

"She wasn't paying attention to him," Bradshaw said. "When she looked like she was going to put it in drive, he actually smashed the window out to try to grab the steering wheel but it didn't work. He was able to get his arm out and she drove off."

The trooper gave chase but lost the woman in traffic for a time. "When she approached the Mar-a-Lago area she crashed through the first checkpoint ... proceeded to the second checkpoint, crashed through there. The deputies and the Secret Service agent that were there got away just in time."

Bradshaw said the Secret Service and sheriff's deputies opened fire when it became clear the woman was not going to stop. "We didn't know if there was somebody with a car bomb. We didn't know if somebody was there to try to hit as many pedestrians as possible," the sheriff said.

The sheriff's office, U.S. Secret Service and Florida Highway Patrol held a joint new conference on on Friday afternoon. Roehme was tackled outside of a local motel where she appeared to be trying to make her way to a room, according to the sheriff.

"It's a road that leads nowhere else but to Mar-a-Lago," Bradshaw said of the proximity to the president's resort. "I'm not so sure she knew where she was going."

In November, Chinese national Yujing Zhang was sentenced to eight months in prison for making unlawful entry into restricted buildings or grounds at Mar-a-Lago resort and lying to Secret Service agents.