A man was shot dead by US Secret Service officers after opening fire at a security checkpoint near the White House on Saturday evening, the agency said, with a bystander also struck during the brief exchange of gunfire.
The suspect approached the checkpoint at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington DC shortly after 6pm local time, pulled a weapon from a bag and began firing at officers, according to a Secret Service statement carried by Reuters. Officers returned fire and fatally wounded the suspect, who later died in hospital.
A bystander was also struck. The Secret Service said it remained unclear whether the round came from the suspect or from agents returning fire, and did not disclose the severity of the injury. No Secret Service personnel were hurt.
A US law enforcement official told Reuters the suspect was described as “an emotionally disturbed person” who had previously been issued a “stay-away order.”
President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time and was unharmed. The complex was placed under temporary lockdown. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said he was monitoring the incident, calling the shooting a reminder of the risks faced by law enforcement officers.
The incident comes during a tense diplomatic moment for the Trump administration, which is simultaneously pushing a multilateral Iran framework agreement and pursuing domestic security operations in Washington and other major US cities.
