(May 5): A man was shot by Secret Service officers near the White House on Monday afternoon after agents spotted him carrying a concealed firearm and he opened fire, according to the agency’s deputy director.
Plainclothes surveillance agents patrolling the outer perimeter of the White House complex spotted what they described as a visible outline of a firearm on the suspect and called in uniformed Secret Service police to make contact, deputy director Matt Quinn said at a briefing.
The suspect ran, drew a weapon and shot at the officers, who returned fire, striking him. He was taken to an area hospital. His condition was not disclosed.
A child bystander was also hit during the exchange and was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Quinn said. Investigators believe the child was hit by the suspect, not by officers, though Quinn said the matter would be part of an ensuing investigation.
The shooting occurred less than two weeks after the Secret Service stopped an armed man who rushed into a Washington gala attended by President Donald Trump and top administration officials. Cole Tomas Allen, 31, has since been charged with intent to kill the president and transporting a firearm across state lines with intent to commit a felony and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has proposed spending as much as US$1 billion for US Secret Service upgrades, including for enhancements around Trump’s planned White House ballroom.
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Quinn pointed out that Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade had driven through the area shortly before the shooting. He said there was no indication the suspect was targeting the motorcade, but that investigators would look into his intent.
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