A person who came to a White House security checkpoint and started shooting at officers has died, as reported by federal officials.
The U.S. Secret Service mentioned in a statement late Saturday that, based on an early investigation, the individual approached the checkpoint shortly after 6 p.m. ET, took a weapon out of his bag, and began firing at the officers on duty.
Officers returned fire and struck the suspect, who was taken to a nearby hospital but later died, according to the Secret Service.
A bystander was hit, but a law enforcement official said it was unclear if this person was hit by the suspect’s initial shots or those fired by the officers afterward.
The Secret Service confirmed that none of its officers were hurt, and that President Donald Trump, who was at the White House during the incident, was not affected.
Reporters at the White House on Saturday reported hearing multiple gunshots and were instructed to take cover inside the press briefing room.
On X, the Secret Service acknowledged reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, just a block from the White House, and stated they were working to confirm the details with personnel on the ground.
They promised to provide an update soon.
Evidence of the shooting was seen on a sidewalk just outside the White House area, where yellow crime scene tape was placed across the pavement and U.S. Secret Service officers set down many orange evidence markers.
Medical supplies, including what looked like purple surgical gloves and kits commonly used by emergency medical staff, were also visible.
ABC News senior White House correspondent Selina Wang shared a dramatic video on X, showing the moment she heard what sounded like many gunshots and ducked for cover.
She explained that she was doing a routine task that White House reporters do every day—recording herself on a cellphone for a social media post. Wang’s video shows her talking for a few seconds about Trump’s earlier comments on a possible Iran deal.
As gunfire is heard in the background, her eyes widen, and she ducks down in the media tent, which is located in a row along the White House driveway where broadcasters report their news.
By Saturday evening, Wang’s video had been shared thousands of times and viewed over 3 million times.
The Metropolitan Police Department stated on its X account that the Secret Service was handling the scene and advised people to stay away from the area.
This location is close to where a gunman attacked two members of the West Virginia National Guard last November.
U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries, while Andrew Wolfe, then 24, was critically hurt.
Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been charged in that case.
The shooting on Saturday happened nearly a month after what law enforcement called an attempted assassination of the president on April 25 during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner at a Washington hotel.
Cole Tomas Allen, from Torrance, California, recently pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to kill Trump and remains in federal custody.
After that incident, Secret Service officers shot a suspect who they said had fired at officers near the Washington Monument, also close to the White House.
Michael Marx, 45, from Midland, Texas, was charged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court related to the shooting on May 4. A teenage bystander was injured in that event.
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