Washington, May 24 (dpa/GNA) – A person has died after opening fire near the White House and being shot by officers, the Secret Service said.
“Shortly after 6 p.m Saturday [2200 GMT] an individual in the area of 17th street and Pennsylvania Avenue pulled a weapon from his bag and began firing,” the US Secret Service Office of Communications said in a statement on X.
“Secret Service Police returned fire, striking the suspect who was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased,” the statement said. The statement added that one bystander was also struck by gunfire during the shooting.
US President Donald Trump was at the White House in Washington at the time of the incident, the agency said.
In a post on his Truth Social network, Trump thanked the Secret Service and law enforcement Secret Service “for the swift and professional action taken this evening against a gunman near the White House, who had a violent history and possible obsession with our Country’s most cherished structure.” The Secret Service said no officers were injured, and the incident is under investigation.
The president also used the post as a pitch for his much sought-after ballroom project, though he did not mention it by name, saying that the incident, coming shortly after the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, shows “how important it is, for all future Presidents, to get, what will be, the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington, D.C.”
Earlier, FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that officers were at the scene and supporting the Secret Service after shots were fired near the White House grounds. Several US media outlets had reported hearing gunfire and the North Lawn of the White House was cleared.
GNA