Trump ushered from briefing after reports of Secret Service shooting near White House
President Donald Trump was abruptly pulled from a coronavirus briefing Monday shortly after it started due to a reported shooting just outside the White House.
The president was rushed from the briefing about 3 minutes in, CSPAN video shows. The media room was put on lockdown, CNBC reports.
When he returned, Trump said a “suspect” had been shot by law enforcement outside the White House.
“The suspect is now on the way to the hospital. I can’t tell you the condition of the suspect,” he said. “There’s was no one else injured, there was no other law enforcement injured.”
The U.S. Secret Service confirmed on Twitter there was an “officer involved shooting” at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue and said officials were on the scene.
Later Monday night, the Secret Service said in a statement a 51-year-old man approached an officer “standing at his post” near the White House and told him he had a weapon.
“The suspect then turned around, ran aggressively towards the officer, and in a drawing motion, withdrew an object from his clothing,” the Secret Service said. “He then crouched into a shooter’s stance as if about to fire a weapon.”
The officer then shot the suspect in the torso, the statement says.
Officers “immediately rendered first aid” and D.C. Fire and EMS responded. Both the suspect and the officer were taken to a hospital.
“The White House Complex was not breached during the incident and no Secret Service protectees were ever in danger,” the statement says.
The president said during the briefing that the shooting occurred “outside of the premises” of the White House and near the fence.
“Pretty close,” he said before returning to talking about the stock market.
Photos and video of the scene were shared on social media.
This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 6:34 PM.
