Two people were wounded Saturday evening in an encounter with the U.S. Secret Service near the White House, including a possible suspect, according to U.S. media reports citing law enforcement sources.
The incident occurred near the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, just outside the White House complex. A law enforcement official told CNN that officers from the Secret Service’s uniformed division had responded to a report of a person firing a weapon when the shooting took place.
The Secret Service said it was investigating reports of shots fired at the corner of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest. The circumstances of the incident were not immediately clear.
Reporters on the White House North Lawn said they heard what sounded like dozens of gunshots, prompting an immediate lockdown and a rapid Secret Service response. Members of the press corps were rushed into the White House briefing room, where agents told them to shelter in place.
Inside the White House, reporters said Secret Service agents shouted “get down” and warned of “shots fired.” Agents carrying rifles were later seen moving through the North Lawn area and blocking the entrance to the briefing room.
CNN reported that the lockdown was lifted shortly after 6:45 p.m. ET.
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Journalists peek out of windows after the shooting near the White House
(Photo: Nathan Howard/ Reuters)
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Armed security personnel at the White House after nearby gunfire
(Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI AFP)
FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that the bureau was “on the scene and supporting Secret Service responding to shots fired near White House grounds,” adding: “We will update the public as we’re able.”
ABC News chief White House correspondent Selina Wang posted video from the North Lawn showing the moment the apparent shots rang out while she was recording a report on her iPhone.
“I was in the middle of taping on my iPhone for a social video from the White House North Lawn when we heard the shots,” Wang wrote on X. “It sounded like dozens of gunshots. We were told to sprint to the press briefing room where we are holding now.”
NBC correspondent Julie Tsirkin, who was also at the scene, said earlier that between 20 and 30 shots were heard and that Secret Service personnel instructed journalists to shelter in the briefing room.
President Donald Trump was inside the White House residence at the time, CNN reported. The network said it had reached out to the White House, the Metropolitan Police Department and DC Fire and EMS for comment.
The incident came less than a month after a separate shooting near the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where reporters and Trump administration officials ducked for cover as shots rang out. The suspect in that case, Cole Tomas Allen, allegedly sprinted through a security checkpoint with a shotgun and exchanged fire with Secret Service agents, according to security footage cited by CNN. He has pleaded not guilty to attempting to assassinate Trump and other charges.