Shooting Outside White House Again, One Suspect Dead, One Civilian Injured

Washington — Gunfire erupted outside the White House again on Saturday evening. According to the United States Secret Service, one suspect who opened fire has been killed, and one civilian has been injured.

Following the incident, the White House area was placed on lockdown for some time, which has now been lifted. US President Donald Trump was reported to be inside the White House at the time of the incident. According to the Secret Service, no protected individuals or government officials were affected by the shooting.

Around 6 p.m. local time, numerous journalists present on the White House grounds heard the sound of sustained gunfire. Secret Service security personnel then immediately moved the journalists to the press briefing room inside the building and sealed off the entire White House area.

According to American media reports, between 15 and 30 rounds were fired. Preliminary information suggests that a lone gunman advanced towards a Secret Service agent and opened fire. However, the agents were not hit, and they returned fire.

According to later updates, two people were injured in the incident and both were taken to hospital. CBS News reported that one of the injured is the suspect, whose condition is said to be critical, while the other injured person is possibly a civilian.

President Trump was informed about the incident. He has not made any public comment so far. This incident comes exactly one month after a gunman opened fire outside the venue while the ‘White House Correspondents’ Dinner’ was underway.