Secret Service officers shot a man during an exchange of gunfire Monday near the White House in an incident that wounded a child who happened to be in the area.
The incident near the Washington Monument comes amid increased concerns about political violence about a week after a gunman attempted to breach the security perimeter at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington in an alleged effort to assassinate President Donald Trump.
Monday’s episode unfolded in the late afternoon, when plainclothes officers determined that a person had a gun and called for backup. The man exchanged fire with officers while trying to flee the area, said Matthew Quinn, deputy director of the Secret Service.
A weapon was recovered from the man, whose intentions were not immediately clear, Quinn told reporters at a news conference.
“Whether or not it was directed to the president or not, I don’t know,” he said. “But we will find out.”
Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade drove through the area not long before the shooting occurred, he said.
The incident occurred in the late afternoon near the National Mall and the Washington Monument, a secure area typically crowded with tourists and office workers.
Both the bystander and the suspect were taken to the hospital. Quinn said the child did not have a life-threatening injury and he declined comment on the suspect’s condition.
The Metropolitan Police Department will conduct an investigation into the use of force in the shooting.
The shooting also comes just months after a gunman opened fire on two National Guard soldiers blocks from the White House, critically injuring one and killing another. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles convened a meeting last week with the White House operations team, Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security leadership to discuss “protocol and practices” for major events involving the president in the wake of the WHCD shooting.
