Suspect dead after approaching White House checkpoint with weapon, Secret Service says

WASHINGTON (AP) — A person who approached a White House security checkpoint and began shooting at officers has died, according to federal officials.

The U.S. Secret Service said in a statement late Saturday that, according to a preliminary investigation, the person approached a checkpoint shortly after 6 p.m. ET, “removed a weapon from his backpack and began shooting at the stationed officers.”

Officers returned fire and wounded the suspect, who was taken to an area hospital, where he later died, according to the Secret Service.

One bystander was injured, but a law enforcement official said it was not clear whether that person was hit by the suspect’s initial bullets or those fired by officers later.

The Secret Service said none of its officers were hurt, and that President Donald Trump — who was in the White House at the time — was “unaffected.”

This is a breaking news update. The previous AP story follows below.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Secret Service shot a person near the White House on Saturday, and a bystander was also shot, a law enforcement official said.

Both people were said to be in critical condition, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.

Reporters working at the White House reported on Saturday that they heard a series of gunshots and were told to seek cover inside the press conference room.

At Site He said he will have an update soon.

In a post on social media, FBI Director Kash Patel said officers were responding to the shooting and said he would “update the public as best we can.”

President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time.

Evidence of the shooting was seen on the sidewalk just outside the White House complex, where yellow crime scene tape stretched across the sidewalk and US Secret Service officers placed dozens of orange evidence markers on the ground. Medical items were also seen, including what appeared to be purple surgical gloves and equipment typically used by emergency medical personnel.

In a post shared on X, ABC News White House correspondent Selena Wang shared a dramatic video of the moment she said she heard what “sounded like dozens of gunshots” and ducked for cover. Writing that she was performing a routine task that White House reporters do daily — filming themselves on a cellphone for a social media post — a video shows Wang speaking for a few seconds about Trump’s comments earlier Saturday about a potential Iran deal.

As gunfire rang out in the background, Wang’s eyes widened, and she leaned into the media tent, located between those in a line along the White House corridor where anchors film their reports. On X, Wang’s video had been shared thousands of times as of Saturday evening, and had been viewed at least 3 million times.

The Metropolitan Police Department said on its X account that the Secret Service was working at the scene and warned people to avoid the area. The scene is near where a gunman ambushed two members of the West Virginia National Guard last November.

US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died of her injuries. Andrew Wolfe, then 24 years old, was seriously injured. Rahmanullah Lakkanwal was accused in this incident.

Saturday’s shooting comes nearly a month after what law enforcement said was an April 25 assassination attempt on the president as he attended the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at a Washington hotel. Cole Thomas Allen, of Torrance, California, recently pleaded not guilty to charges he attempted to kill Trump and remains in federal custody.

After that scare, Secret Service officers shot a suspect who they said fired at officers near the Washington Monument, also near the White House. Michael Marks, 45, of Midland, Texas, was charged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in connection with the May 4 shooting. A teenage passerby was injured in this accident.

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Associated Press photojournalists Jose Luis Magaña and Alex Brandon and AP writers Gary Fields, Meg Kennard and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.