US Secret Service shoots armed man near White House while Trump out of town
Agents had been warned by local police of a ‘suicidal’ person travelling to Washington
The US Secret Service shot an armed man outside the White House early on Sunday after a confrontation, and the man is now in an area hospital, it said in a statement.
Secret Service officials received a tip on Saturday from local authorities that a suicidal person may be travelling to Washington from Indiana and the person’s car was found a block from the White House, it said in the statement.
The man brandished a firearm as officers approached him and the Secret Service opened fire shortly after midnight local time.
The man was taken to an area hospital and his condition was not known, the statement said, adding that there were no injuries to Secret Service staff.
Washington’s Metropolitan Police said investigators from its internal affairs division were looking into the incident but declined further comment.
There have been a series of incidents involving armed men shot by security officers on or near the White House grounds over the years, including the shooting, in 2016, of a man who brandished a handgun at a White House security gate.