Secret Service shot armed man in confrontation near White House

Police activity at the entrance to Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House shortly after Secret Service guards shot a person who was apparently armed, outside the White House on August 10, 2020 while US President Donald Trump was speaking to the press in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images) (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

An armed adult man was shot by U.S. Secret Service personnel on Sunday morning outside the White House, the agency announced shortly after the incident.

President Donald Trump was not at the White House Sunday morning.

According to Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi, USSS received information about a “suicidal individual” who was traveling to DC from Indiana. Guglielmi said in a statement that USSS members saw a person matching the description near the White House and found their parked car.

“As officers approached, the individual brandished a firearm and an armed confrontation ensued, during which shots were fired by our personnel,” Guglielmi said.

The person was taken to the hospital, and his condition remains unknown.

The U.S. Secret Service said there were no injuries to members of their personnel.

On March 8, DC Metropolitan police sent out a “BOLO” received from police in North Manchester, Indiana concerning a 27-year-old man driving to the Washington, DC area who may be armed, emotionally disturbed, and possibly trying to attempt suicide by cop, multiple law enforcement sources told CNN.

Officers found the man on foot just outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building and about a block from the White House, the sources said. The officers confronted the man who pointed the gun at himself, ignored commands to drop the weapon and turned the gun in the direction of the Secret Service agents and officers, according to the law enforcement sources briefed on the incident. The officers then fired an unknown number of shots. An additional weapon, a rifle, was found in the car, according to the sources briefed.

DC Metropolitan Police’s Internal Affairs Division Force Investigations Team will lead the investigation into the incident, Guglielmi said, as they are the primary agency responsible for officer involved shootings in the District of Columbia.

DC Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement Sunday they had no further details on the investigation.