Secret Service Officers Exchange Gunfire With Armed Suspect Near White House, Juvenile Injured

U.S. Secret Service officers exchanged gunfire with an armed suspect near the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday, and a juvenile bystander was injured during the exchange, according to the U.S. Secret Service.

“Secret Service officers exchange gunfire with armed suspect near White House, juvenile bystander injured: USSS Officers returned fire, striking the suspect, the Secret Service said”

ABC News

ABC News reported that the shooting occurred around 3:30 p.m. Monday near the National Mall, outside the perimeter of the White House complex, citing U.S. Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn.

ABC News

The Secret Service said officers returned fire and struck the suspect, and the suspect was transported to a hospital, while Quinn said he had no comment on the suspect’s condition.

NBC News said the Secret Service described the man as a “suspicious individual that appeared to have a firearm,” spotted around 3:30 p.m. ET by plainclothes officers who alerted uniformed officers to apprehend him.

Fox News reported the confrontation began after trained surveillance personnel spotted a “visual print” of a weapon, and Quinn said the suspect fled on foot and fired in the direction of officers.

France 24 said the incident unfolded shortly after Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade passed by the area, and officials said the vice president was not believed to be a target.

The incident triggered a brief evacuation or lockdown of the White House North Lawn, with NBC News reporting that the media was allowed back outside less than 10 minutes after it was first evacuated.

Multiple outlets described how plainclothes officers identified the suspect and how the confrontation escalated near the White House complex.

ABC News said a plainclothes Secret Service officer observed a "suspicious individual that appeared to have a firearm," and Quinn said uniformed Secret Service police briefly followed the suspect and, upon making contact, he fled on foot and fired in the direction of the officers.

Anadolu Ajansı

CNN similarly said officers noticed “a suspicious individual that appeared to have a firearm,” and that the man ran when uniformed Secret Service police approached him and fired towards the officers.

NBC News reported that Quinn said the man alleged to have run away and brandished a firearm, which Quinn said he fired in the direction of Secret Service agents who returned fire.

The Washington Post said the White House was briefly locked down after a U.S. Secret Service officer exchanged gunfire with an armed individual nearby, and Politico said the incident near the Washington Monument came amid increased concerns about political violence about a week after a gunman attempted to breach the security perimeter at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Fox News added that Quinn said the confrontation began after surveillance personnel observed a “visual print” of a firearm, and Quinn said “Upon making contact, that individual fled briefly on foot, withdrew a firearm and fired in the direction of our agents and officers.”

PBS said Quinn described plainclothes agents spotting the man around 3:30 p.m. and seeing the imprint of the weapon, then contacting uniformed officers, and that the man fired at the officers who returned fire.

Secret Service Deputy Director Matt Quinn repeatedly addressed whether the Monday shooting was connected to President Donald Trump or the White House, and he said investigators would determine what happened.

“Advertising One week after Donald Trump's third assassination attempt, new images from that day continue to surface”

Antena 3

ABC News quoted Quinn saying, “Whether or not it was directed to the president or not, I don't know, but we will find out,” and NBC News quoted Quinn saying, “Whether or not it was directed to the president or not, I don't know, but we will find out,” as well.

Fox News reported Quinn told reporters, “I can’t say—I’m not going to guess on that,” when asked if the suspect was targeting President Trump in light of the recent attack at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

France 24 said Quinn told reporters he did not believe that the vice president was an intended target and said he could not speculate if it was related to recent attempts on the life of President Donald Trump, including the quote “I'm not going to guess on that.”

Politico said Quinn told reporters at a news conference, “Whether or not it was directed to the president or not, I don't know,” and that he would find out.

CNN reported Quinn told reporters that President Donald Trump was not in any danger and that there currently is no known nexus between the incident and the White House, quoting Quinn’s statement to CNN.

ABC News and PBS both said the use-of-force investigation would be conducted by the Metropolitan Police Department, with ABC News stating, “The use-of-force investigation will be conducted by the Metropolitan Police Department, Quinn said.”

While outlets agreed on the basic sequence—plainclothes officers spotting a suspicious individual near the White House complex, gunfire, and a juvenile bystander being hit—the reporting diverged on certain specifics, including the suspect’s description and how the bystander was struck.

CNN reported that a law enforcement source said the suspect was a “45-year-old White man with past residency in both Maryland and Texas,” and that he was shot in the torso and listed in stable condition, while ABC News and NBC News said Quinn did not know the suspect’s condition and had no comment.

BFM

NBC News said Quinn added that a bystander “is a minor” and that the bystander had non-life-threatening injuries, while ABC News said the juvenile bystander was believed to have been shot by the suspect and sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

PBS said Quinn could not say definitively that the bystander was struck by shots from the suspect’s gun, and that “investigators believe he was struck by the suspect,” while NBC News said Quinn could not say definitively and would “let the doctors figure that out.”

CNN reported a DC Police spokesperson said the juvenile suffered a “graze wound,” which was not described in the same way in ABC News or NBC News.

Fox News said the Secret Service said in a post on X that one individual was shot by law enforcement, while Politico said the bystander and the suspect were taken to the hospital and that the Metropolitan Police Department will conduct an investigation into the use of force.

JNS.org described the suspect as shot dead by agents, which differs from other outlets’ language about being shot and wounded or condition unknown.

The Monday shooting near the White House came amid heightened attention to political violence and followed a prior security incident involving President Donald Trump.

Multiple outlets tied the timing to “a week” after an alleged assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, with ABC News saying the shooting came over a week after an alleged assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

CiberCuba

NBC News said the shooting comes a week after Cole Allen, 31, a teacher and engineer from California, was charged with attempting to assassinate the president on April 25, and it quoted Quinn about patrolling “24/7, hard-core.”

France 24 said the incident comes slightly more than a week after a gunman tried to break through security at a Washington hotel where Trump was attending an event, and it stated that Cole Allen, 31, has been charged with seeking to assassinate the president.

Politico said the Monday episode unfolded amid increased concerns about political violence about a week after a gunman attempted to breach the security perimeter at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner in an alleged effort to assassinate President Donald Trump.

Politico also reported that White House chief of staff Susie Wiles convened a meeting last week with the White House operations team, Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security leadership to discuss “protocol and practices” for major events involving the president in the wake of the WHCD shooting.

In the immediate aftermath, outlets described the White House event continuing and the press being moved indoors during the lockdown, with NBC News saying Trump was holding a small-business summit in the White House’s East Room and that event was not interrupted.