The U.S. Secret Service said agents on Monday shot a man near the White House who allegedly opened fire after he was confronted by authorities.
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Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn told reporters that the suspect, described as a “suspicious individual that appeared to have a firearm,” was spotted around 3:30 p.m. ET by plainclothes officers who then alerted uniformed officers to apprehend the man.
The suspect allegedly fled on foot and brandished a firearm, which Quinn said he fired in the direction of Secret Service agents who returned fire. The suspect was taken to a hospital. Quinn said he did not know his condition.
Quinn added that a bystander, who he said is a minor, was hit by gunfire from the suspect and transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The shooting took place at 15th Street and Independence Avenue, Secret Service said in a post on X.
It wasn’t clear whether the incident had any connection to President Donald Trump or the White House in general. The shooting comes a week after Cole Allen, a 31-year-old teacher and engineer from California, was charged with attempting to assassinate the president on April 25.
“We’re patrolling this area and every site we do, 24/7, hard core,” Quinn said when asked whether the incident was related to other attempts on Trump’s life.
“Whether or not it was directed to the president or not, I don’t know, but we will find out,” he added.
While the incident unfolded, Trump was holding a small business summit in the White House’s East Room. That event was not interrupted.
Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade passed nearby Monday's incident moments before the shooting, Quinn said. He said the suspect did not attack the motorcade and that there was no indication that approaching it was his intent.
NBC News witnessed a motorcade leaving the White House around 3:37 p.m. Moments later, national guardsmen and police officers ran south towards the direction of the motorcade after the sound of three to four pops.
Witnesses told NBC News that they saw a man run toward the motorcade before shots were fired.
Quinn said the investigation into the incident will be conducted by Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department.
Asked how Secret Service determined that the apprehended man was suspicious, Quinn declined to respond directly, saying, “That’s enough from me.”
He had said moments earlier that the plainclothes officers observed a “visual print” of a firearm. He said those officers followed the man for a brief time before uniformed police engaged. Quinn said that officers recovered a weapon but did not provide details about it.
Around the same time as the incident, the White House’s North Lawn was evacuated. Secret Service officers ran onto the lawn with long guns and urged members of the press to leave the lawn and move into the White House briefing room. The press was allowed back outside less than 10 minutes after first being evacuated.