Gunshots heard near White House, suspect killed

The White House was briefly locked down on Saturday after a sustained volley of gunshots was heard by reporters for multiple outlets.

In a statement provided to Fox News, the US Secret Service said that, shortly after 6pm local time, a man approached a checkpoint at a White House gate near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, took out a pistol and fired three shots. Secret Service officers, who protect the US president and vice-president, returned fire, the agency said, “striking the suspect, who was transported to an area hospital, where he later died”.

During the shooting, a bystander was also shot. “It remains unclear whether the bystander was struck by the suspect’s initial gunfire or during the subsequent exchange of gunfire,” the Secret Service said. “No injuries were sustained by Secret Service personnel. The President was at the White House during the incident but was not impacted.”

Earlier, Selina Wang, a White House correspondent for ABC News, shared video on social media of the sound of gunfire interrupting her as she recorded a report on US negotiations with Iran. In the clip, Wang could be seen diving to take cover as what “sounded like dozens of gunshots” rang out.

“We were told to sprint to the press briefing room, where we are holding now,” Wang added.

The FBI director, Kash Patel, posted: “FBI is on the scene and supporting Secret Service responding to shots fired near White House grounds – we will update the public as we’re able.”

Donald Trump said earlier that he was in the Oval Office but did not immediately comment on the reported gunfire.

Chris Flanagan, an anchor for the local news channel DC News Now who took cover in the White House briefing room, reported that about 30 shots were fired, but that the security lockdown had been lifted.

A CBS News producer also estimated that at least 20 shots had been fired, and the the Secret Service said in a statement at about 6:45pm local time that it was “aware of reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW and are working to corroborate the information with personnel on the ground”.

The shooting comes less than three weeks after a previous incident in which a man said to be brandishing a gun fired at a Secret Service officer near the route of JD Vance’s motorcade outside the White House. “A civilian witness standing behind the officer was wounded in his leg,” the Department of Justice said. Officers returned fire, striking the man in the hand, left arm and upper abdomen.

The gunfire Saturday also comes nearly a month after what law enforcement authorities said was an attempted assassination of the president on 25 April as he attended the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at a Washington hotel.