A person who approached a White House security checkpoint and began firing at officers has died, according to federal officials.
The US Secret Service said in a statement late Saturday that, according to a preliminary investigation, the person approached a checkpoint shortly after 6pm (10am NZT) "removed a weapon from his bag and began firing at posted officers".
Officers returned fire and hit the suspect, who was transported to an area hospital, where he later died, according to the Secret Service.
A bystander was struck, but a law enforcement official said it wasn’t clear whether that person was struck by the suspect’s initial bullets or those fired subsequently by officers.
Secret Service said none of its officers were injured, and that President Donald Trump — who was at the White House at the time — was not "impacted".
Journalists working at the White House on Saturday (local time) reported hearing a series of gunshots and were told to seek shelter inside the press briefing room.
In a tweet, the Secret Service said it was “aware of reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW” — one block from the White House — and was “working to corroborate the information with personnel on the ground.” It said it will have an update shortly.
In a social media post, FBI Director Kash Patel said officers were responding to shots fired and said he would “update the public as we’re able".
US President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time.
In a post shared on X, Selina Wang, the senior White House correspondent for ABC News, shared dramatic video of the moment she said she heard what “sounded like dozens of gunshots” and ducked for cover.
Writing that she had been performing a task that reporters at the White House do day in and day out — filming themselves on a cellphone, for a social media post — Wang’s video shows her speaking for a few seconds about Trump’s statements about a potential Iran deal.
As the sounds of gunfire are heard in the background, Wang’s eyes grow wider, and she ducks down in the media tent, which is among those situated in a line along the White House driveway where broadcasters film their reports.
Wang’s video had been shared thousands of times as of Saturday evening and viewed at least 3 million times on X, formerly Twitter.
The Metropolitan Police Department said on its X Account that the Secret Service was working the scene and cautioned people to avoid.
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