A gunman who fired at a White House checkpoint on Saturday evening was shot by officers and died after being taken to the hospital, the Secret Service said.
The man approached the checkpoint at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House, where he pulled a gun out of his bag and started shooting at officers, according to a Secret Service statement sent to Reuters. The officers returned fire and shot the suspect, the agency added.
Soon after the incident, US President Donald Trump said that the gunman who opened fire on Secret Service officers outside the White House had a "violent history and possible obsession" with the building.
"Thank you to our great Secret Service and Law Enforcement for the swift and professional action taken this evening against a gunman near the White House, who had a violent history and possible obsession with our Country's most cherished structure," he said in a post on Truth Social.
A bystander was struck by gunfire, the agency statement said, but it did not make clear how badly the person was hurt. Another Secret Service statement, cited by multiple news outlets, said it was not clear whether the bystander was hit when the gunman began shooting or during the subsequent exchange of gunfire.
The shooting suspect was later identified as an emotionally disturbed person, a law enforcement official told Reuters, adding that a "stay-away order" had been issued to him previously.
No law enforcement personnel were injured, the Secret Service assured, adding that President Donald Trump was at the White House during the incident.
The shooting comes nearly a month after a gunman fired shots inside the hotel hosting the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, prompting Trump and other senior officials to be rushed out.
