White House shooting: Secret Service take aim at man after ‘armed confrontation’ with law enforcement
The US Secret Service has shot down a man who was spotted near the White House in Washington DC after midnight on Sunday.
After an “armed confrontation” with law enforcement, the individual was taken to hospital.
The incident occurred close to the intersection of 17th Street and F Street NW – just five minutes away from the White House on foot.
Yesterday, police in DC had noted a “suicidal individual” that might have been travelling to the city from Indiana, according to the agency.
Officials subsequently found the man’s car and identified an individual who matched the description.
The vehicle was discovered near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building – one block away from the West Wing.
The man – who has not been named – walked towards Pennsylvania Avenue and, soon after, was met by a group of federal agents just after midnight.
“As officers approached, the individual brandished a firearm, and an armed confrontation ensued, during which shots were fired by our personnel,” the Secret Service said earlier today by service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.
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No injuries were reported among their own personnel, while the incident has been placed under investigation.
The status of the individual is currently unknown.
The President was not staying in the White House this weekend and is currently residing in his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
The city’s Metropolitan Police’s Internal Affairs Division will lead the investigation into the matter.
Last month, it was reported that Elon Musk would be allocated office space in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to conduct his business as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
During Trump’s first administration in August 2020, another individual was shot by the service’s officers at the same time that the President was delivering a press briefing in the West Wing.
The 51-year-old man fired shots at the White House and then “ran aggressively” towards Secret Service officials who then shot the gunman.
Trump was briefly removed from the room but was able to return to the reporters later on.