Washington,After multiple gunshots were reported outside the White House, police officers and federal agents flooded the area around the presidential complex, leading to a massive security response. President Donald Trump was reportedly in the White House at the time of the incident.
The report said the suspect allegedly fired shots at a security booth outside the White House where US Secret Service officers were stationed. CBS News sources report that approximately 30 shots were heard in the vicinity of the White House complex at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, close to the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Suspect shot deadThe gunman, who opened fire on Secret Service officers outside the White House, died after being shot, the agency said in a statement to US media.
The agency said a bystander was also shot during the exchange of gunfire, but it did not say what condition the victim was in. "Secret Service police officers returned fire, hitting the suspect, who was taken to an area hospital, where he later died," the statement said after the gunman shot at agents at a security checkpoint near the White House.
ABC News senior White House correspondent Selina Wang shared dramatic video on X of the moment she said she heard what “sounded like dozens of gunshots” and took cover. “I was doing a job that White House reporters do every day — shooting myself on a cellphone for a social media post,” she wrote. In Wang’s video, she talks for a few seconds about what Trump said earlier Saturday about a possible Iran deal.
With the sounds of gunfire in the background, Wang's eyes widen and she ducks down in the media tent, one of those lined up along the White House driveway where broadcasters film their reports. As of Saturday evening, Wang’s video had been shared thousands of times on X and viewed at least 3 million times.
US Secret Service statementA preliminary investigation indicates the person approached a checkpoint shortly after 6 pm ET and “pulled a weapon out of his bag and began firing at posted officers,” the US Secret Service said in a statement late Saturday.
“At about 6 PM Saturday, a person in the area of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue removed a weapon from his bag and fired.” Secret Service Police returned fire and the suspect was struck and transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead. One bystander was also hit by gunfire during the shooting. “The President was in the White House at the time of the incident,” the U.S. Secret Service said.
Killing Trump: A NovelThe latest shooting near the White House comes nearly a month after law enforcement officials described an attempted assassination of Trump during the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at a Washington hotel on April 25. Officials say Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California, has pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to kill Trump and remains in federal custody.
Trump has faced a number of security threats in recent years. In a separate incident, he was targeted while playing golf at the Trump International Golf Club. Earlier, during a campaign event in the 2024 US presidential race, a gunman later identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at the crowd from a nearby rooftop. A bullet grazed Trump’s right ear, causing some bleeding, before Crooks was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper moments after he started firing.
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