White House locked down briefly after shooting reported in vicinity, armed suspect shot at
The incident comes days after another gunman was shot dead as he tried to break into the White House during the Correspondents' Dinner, which was being attended by President Donald Trump and his deputy JD Vance among other dignataries.
An armed suspect was shot and injured by the US Secret Service following a shooting incident near the White House on Monday (local time), authorities have said, urging the public to stay away from the area as emergency teams responded.
In a post on X, the agency’s Office of Communications said, “US Secret Service personnel are on the scene of an officer involved shooting at 15th Street and Independence Avenue in Washington, DC. One individual was shot by law enforcement, their condition is currently unknown. Please avoid the area as emergency crews are responding.”
According to Fox News, the incident occurred just over 0.5 miles from the White House, near the Washington Monument, where Secret Service officers confronted the suspect.
Citing a federal source, the report said officers opened fire after the individual pulled out a gun.
At a press conference, Deputy Director Matt Quinn said a juvenile bystander was also injured. "My understanding is they observed a print," Quinn said.
“These are trained surveillance detection personnel who are out there every day looking for such signs, and they observed a visual print of a firearm,” he added.
Plainclothes officers on exterior patrol near the White House identified a suspicious individual close to the Washington Monument at around 3:30 pm EDT. Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn said at a press conference that the man showed a “visual print” of a firearm on his person.
When uniformed Secret Service officers approached him, the suspect fled. Quinn said the man then opened fire on the agents, prompting them to return fire and strike him. He was later apprehended and taken to hospital, and a firearm was recovered from the scene.
A 15 year old boy nearby was also shot. Quinn said investigators believe the teenager was hit by the suspect, not by law enforcement. “Everything I’ve seen leads me and the investigators to believe he was struck by the suspect,” he said, later adding, “We’ll let the doctors figure that out,” when questioned further.