The US Secret Service said in a statement late Saturday that, according to a preliminary investigation, the person approached a checkpoint shortly after 6pm local time “removed a weapon from his bag and began firing at posted officers.”
Officers returned fire and hit the suspect, who was transported to an area hospital, where he later died, according to the Secret Service.
A bystander was struck, but a law enforcement official said it wasn’t clear whether that person was struck by the suspect’s initial bullets or those fired subsequently by officers.
Secret Service said none of its officers were injured, and that US President Donald Trump — who was at the White House at the time — was not “impacted.”
Police cordoned off access to the White House and National Guard troops blocked an AFP reporter from entering the area in downtown Washington.
“FBI is on the scene and supporting Secret Service responding to shots fired near White House grounds,” FBI Director Kash Patel said on X.
Canadian tourist Reid Adrian told AFP he was in the area when “we heard probably 20 to 25 what sounded like fireworks, but they’re gunshots, and then everyone started running.”
Journalists who were on the White House North Lawn at the time said on X that they were ordered to run and shelter in the press briefing room.
ABC News correspondent Selina Wang had been recording a video for social media when the apparent gunfire broke out, capturing the sounds of the shots as she dove to the ground.
“It sounded like dozens of gunshots,” she said on X.
A Secret Service spokesman told AFP in a text message that the agency was still gathering information about the incident.
Trump, 79, has been the target of three alleged assassination attempts, the most recent of which took place on April 25 when an armed man stormed a security checkpoint near the ballroom where Trump was attending a media gala. (Agencies)
