A man opened fire Saturday evening at a security checkpoint near the White House in Washington, and died from his injuries after being shot by Secret Service agents, according to authorities.
The Secret Service explained in a statement published by US media that after the gunman opened fire on security personnel at a checkpoint near the White House, “Secret Service agents returned fire, wounding the suspect who was transported to a hospital in the area where he later died.”
The Secret Service statement indicated that a bystander was also shot during the exchange of fire, without providing information on his condition.
US President Donald Trump, who has survived three assassination attempts in the past two years, was at the White House at the time, working to negotiate an agreement with Iran.
According to a U.S. official, a person approached the checkpoint at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House— one block from the White House— and began shooting at security personnel.
The official said the suspect was “injured” and taken to George Washington Hospital, before later announcing his death.
The official added that the suspect was identified as a person suffering from mental disorders, noting that authorities had previously issued him a “stay-away order.”
Hours later, Trump said the man who fired several shots Saturday night near the White House “had a history of violence and appeared to be obsessed” with the U.S. presidential residence.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social account, “Thank you to the great Secret Service and law enforcement for the quick and professional response tonight to an armed man near the White House, who had a history of violence and appeared to be obsessed with our country’s most cherished building.”
FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X that FBI agents were on the scene and providing support to the Secret Service, which responded to a shooting near the White House.
Journalists who were in the North Lawn at the time said they were ordered to run and take refuge in the White House press briefing room.
ABC News correspondent Selena Wang was recording a video for social media when the shooting occurred and was able to record the sounds resulting from it.
She said “It looked like dozens of gunshots.”
For his part, a Canadian tourist said that he was in the area when “we heard between 20 and 25 sounds that sounded like firecrackers, but they were gunshots, and then everyone started running.”
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