The White House was briefly put on lockdown on Monday after a shooting involving the US Secret Service near the Washington Monument, where an armed suspect allegedly opened fire on officers, wounding a minor.
The incident took place at around 3:30pm near 15th Street and Independence Avenue, several blocks from the White House, according to the Secret Service. President Donald Trump was attending a small-business event at the White House at the time, which reportedly continued without disruption.
Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn said plainclothes agents had spotted a suspicious man near the White House complex. The agents followed him briefly and called in uniformed officers.
“Upon making contact, that individual fled briefly on foot, withdrew a firearm and fired in the direction of our agents and officers,” Quinn said. “They returned fire and engaged.”
A juvenile bystander was wounded during the exchange, but the injuries were not life-threatening, according to NBC Washington. Initial findings suggested the minor may have been hit by the suspect’s gunfire. The suspect was detained and taken to a hospital, but his condition was not immediately known.
Journalists at the White House reported being moved off the North Lawn and ordered to shelter inside the press briefing room as a precaution. The lockdown was lifted shortly afterward, with local roads remaining closed while police and forensic teams worked at the scene.
The motive remains unclear, and officials have not said whether the suspect had been targeting the president, the White House, or a nearby motorcade. The Washington Post reported that Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade had passed through the area shortly before the confrontation, but no direct connection was immediately established.
The scare came just over a week after an alleged assassination attempt on Trump. Cole Allen, a teacher from California, was charged with trying to kill the US president after he breached security at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner while armed with guns and knives.
In his purported manifesto, Allen, without identifying Trump by name, slammed his policies and described an intent to take action against “a pedophile, rapist, and traitor.”