A shooting near a White House security checkpoint late Saturday left a suspect dead and a bystander wounded, the U.S. Secret Service said in a statement. The agency said a preliminary investigation found the person approached the checkpoint shortly after 6 p.m. ET, removed a weapon from a bag, and began firing at officers posted there. Officers returned fire and hit the suspect, who was transported to an area hospital and later died, the Secret Service said.
The Secret Service said officers placed around the White House were not injured in the incident, and it said President Donald Trump was not “impacted.” The agency also said a bystander was struck, but a law enforcement official said it was not yet clear whether that person was hit by the suspect’s initial bullets or by rounds fired by officers after they returned fire.
As news of the gunfire spread, journalists and officials described the scene and the immediate response. Journalists working at the White House reported hearing multiple gunshots and being told to seek shelter inside the press briefing room, according to reporting from the area. In a post on X, the Secret Service said it was aware of “reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW” and said it was “working to corroborate the information with personnel on the ground,” adding it would issue an update shortly.
Officials also urged people to avoid the area. The Metropolitan Police Department said on X that the Secret Service was working the scene and cautioned people to avoid it. Evidence of the shooting was visible outside the White House complex, where yellow crime scene tape was placed across the pavement and Secret Service officers used dozens of orange markers on the sidewalk, according to witnesses at the scene.
The incident was occurring while President Donald Trump was inside the White House, according to the reporting. FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post that officers were responding to shots fired and that he would update the public as officials were able.
The Associated Press reported that a teenage bystander was wounded in a separate earlier Secret Service shooting near the Washington Monument on May 4, and that Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, was charged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in connection with that incident. The AP said the May 4 shooting came nearly a month after an attempted assassination of Trump on April 25 at a Washington hotel during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, and that Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, Calif., pleaded not guilty and remained in federal custody.
As investigators gathered at the White House checkpoint, ABC News senior White House correspondent Selina Wang posted video on X describing what she said she heard and how she responded when she believed multiple gunshots were being fired. In the clip, Wang said she had been performing a routine task for White House reporters when she heard what she described as “dozens of gunshots” and ducked for cover. She later shared details with viewers about Trump’s statements earlier Saturday about a potential Iran deal, while gunfire sounds continued in the background of the video.
The Secret Service has not provided additional details about the suspect beyond what it described in its preliminary findings, and it said further information would be released as officers and federal investigators continue their work at the scene.