A Shooting Near the White House
The Secret Service shot and critically wounded a person. The president was not in the compound at the time.
Updated on May 20 at 5:15 p.m. ET
An armed man approaching a White House checkpoint with a gun Friday afternoon was shot by a Secret Service agent after he ignored several orders to drop the weapon, the U.S. Secret Service said in a statement.
The incident prompted a lockdown of the White House that was later lifted. President Obama was not in the compound at the time of the incident, and Vice President Joe Biden, who was, was in a secure location.
The gunman has not been identified, but is in a critical condition, D.C. Fire and EMS said.
Our earlier updates follow:
4:22 p.m. ET
The Secret Service said:
The Secret Service is confirming a police involved shooting near the @WhiteHouse complex. All Secret Service protectees are safe.
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) May 20, 2016
A White House official said: No one within or associated with the White House was injured, and everyone in the White House was safe and accounted for. Obama was made aware of the situation.
4:07 p.m. ET
The White House lockdown was lifted a little after 4 p.m.
Lockdown of WH grounds lifted following shooting incident at security checkpoint on perimeter of the WH compound.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) May 20, 2016
Updated on May 20 at 4:03 p.m. ET
NBC and CNN both reported that a person pulled a gun at a White House checkpoint and was shot by the Secret Service. D.C. Fire and EMS said the person is suffering critical injuries.
Updated on May 20 at 3:54 p.m. ET
The shooting occurred at 17th and E Streets, Northwest, D.C. Fire and EMS said.
UPDATE: Shooting at 17th and E Sts NW - 1pt transported with critical injuries to a local hospital #dctraffic
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) May 20, 2016
Nearby roads have been closed as a precaution.
3:50 p.m. ET
Vice President Joe Biden was in the complex at the time of the incident, but is “secure,” his representative told ABC News. Obama was golfing at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, according to the White House press pool.
3:41 p.m. ET
Both CNN and NBC are reporting that a person is down. Here’s CNN:
Our Peter Morris reports suspect who allegedly opened fire on White House complex is down and in custody, from law enforcement source
— Steve Brusk (@stevebruskCNN) May 20, 2016
3:35 p.m. ET
The U.S. Park Police tweeted:
Shooting on W. Executive Dr. PIO en route to 17th and Pennsylvania
— USPPNEWS (@usparkpolicepio) May 20, 2016
