Shortly after midnight, local time in Sweden, a lockdown was implemented at the White House after security personnel heard the sound of a suspected gunshot nearby.
A man reportedly pulled a gun from a bag and opened fire on Secret Service personnel stationed at a security checkpoint in the immediate vicinity of the White House, a spokesman for the agency said. Fire was returned, and the suspected perpetrator later died at a hospital from his injuries.
Already arrested last year
A passerby was also injured in the exchange of gunfire, but the Secret Service personnel involved are reported to be unharmed.
Witnesses told several US media outlets that a number of shots were heard in connection with the incident, and a police source told CBS that 15 to 30 shots were fired.
Sources, including the AP, say that the man shot dead was 21 years old and that he was arrested last year when he tried to get through another security checkpoint in the same area.
Reporters who were at the White House when the shooting occurred were told to rush into the building's press center, lie down and seek shelter. A temporary lockdown of the area was implemented shortly thereafter.
President Donald Trump was in the White House when the shooting took place, but was not affected, according to a Secret Service spokesperson.
Trump: "Possible obsession"
On his Truth Social platform, Trump thanks the Secret Service for its “swift action” and says the perpetrator had “a violent background and a possible obsession” with the White House.
Trump also emphasizes the importance of increased security at the White House, and justifies the construction of the controversial new ballroom. He also raised this after the attempted attack on a gala dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel a month ago.
The incident shows “how important it is that future presidents have what will be the safest and most secure place of its kind ever built in Washington, D.C. Our country’s national security demands it!” Trump writes.
The Secret Service is a federal police agency responsible for, among other things, providing bodyguard protection for the president and vice president.
