The man is thought to have traveled to Washington from Indiana
An armed man believed to be travelling from Indiana was shot by US Secret Service agents near the White House after a confrontation earlier today, authorities have said.
No-one else was injured in the shooting which happened around midnight about a block from the White House, according to a Secret Service statement.
The Secret Service received information from local police about an alleged ‘suicidal individual’ who was travelling from Indiana, and found the man’s car and a person matching his description nearby.
An armed man is said to have be shot near the White House (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“As officers approached, the individual brandished a firearm and an armed confrontation ensued, during which shots were fired by our personnel,” the Secret Service said in a statement.
The man was hospitalised. The Secret Service said his condition was ‘unknown’.
President Donald Trump was in Florida at the time of the incident.
DC Metropolitan Police’s Internal Affairs Division Force Investigations Team will lead the investigation into the incident, Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielm said, as per CNN.
They are the primary agency responsible for officers involved shootings in the District of Columbia.
Guglielmi also said on Twitter: “Secret Service personnel were involved in a shooting following an armed encounter with a person of interest shortly after midnight on March 9 at 17th and G Streets NW. Media staging area will be at 17th and Pennsylvania.”
Today’s ordeal comes just a few days after Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida was forced into lockdown after reports of gunfire.
Apparently there had been two reports of three gun shots being heard, but law enforcement were unable to locate a shooter at the scene.
“At approximately 10:15 a.m., The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a potential active shooter on board Corry Station,” police penned on Facebook.
There were reports of gunfire at Pensacola Naval Air Station on Thursday (Josh Brasted/Getty Images)
“The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Pensacola Police Department, and Navy Police responded. The building was cleared and there are currently no signs of any victims and no signs of a shooter.
“There were two reports of three gunshots being heard, and we have no evidence of that.”
It’s thought that more than 16,000 military and 7,400 civilian personnel reside at the naval base.
NAS Pensacola later confirmed that they’d been given the ‘all clear’ from law enforcement.
The incident is likely to have sparked such a huge response following the devastating events that unfolded at the same base back in 2019.
In December of that year, Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani — a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force — opened fire, leaving three dead and eight others injured.
