1 shot, bystander grazed in Secret Service police shooting near Washington Monument
One person was shot by an uniformed officer and a young bystander was injured during an exchange of gunfire near the National Mall on Monday afternoon, according to the Secret Service, NBC Washington reports.
The shooting happened at 15th Street SW and Independence Avenue, near the Washington Monument.
Witnesses reported hearing at least five gunshots.
About 3:30 p.m., plainclothes officers and agents who patrol the outer perimeter of the White House complex saw someone near the grounds who appeared to have a firearm, Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew C. Quinn said.
They called uniformed officers who responded and approached that man. He ran, pulled out a firearm and fired toward the officers, Quinn said. The officers returned fire, striking him.
The suspect has been taken to a hospital. Quinn declined to comment on his condition.
Quinn said he believes the suspect’s gunfire struck the young bystander who was hurt.
“I can’t say, and we’ll let the doctors figure that out, but everything I’ve seen leads me to believe, and the investigators believe, he was struck by the suspect,” Quinn said.
Quinn didn’t confirm the age of the bystander but said he is a “juvenile.”
The young victim suffered a possible graze wound to his lower body, according to other law enforcement sources. He walked over to an ambulance, where he was treated by paramedics. Eventually, the ambulance left for a hospital with a Secret Service escort.
His injuries are not life-threatening, Quinn said.
A weapon was recovered at the scene. Quinn declined to share what type of firearm it was.
Streets in the area were blocked off due to the emergency response and investigation.
D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department will handle the investigation, including the use of force in the shooting, Quinn said.
Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade came through the area just before the shooting, although there was no indication it was targeted, Quinn said.
Quinn clarified that the suspect was not on White House grounds but was nearby and had been under observation for a short period before the confrontation.
The Secret Service is patrolling the area “24/7, hard-core,” he said.
“Whether or not it was directed to the president or not, I don’t know, but we will find out,” Quinn said.
The suspect’s name has not yet been released.
The shooting led to a brief evacuation of the White House North Lawn, according to Monica Alba of NBC News.
Members of the press out on the lawn were evacuated just after 3:40 p.m., when Secret Service officers ran out with long guns drawn and urged them to run inside the briefing room. Reporters were allowed back outside about seven minutes later.
President Donald Trump was holding a small business event inside the White House then and was not aware at the time that anything had happened.
The White House is about a mile north of the Washington Monument.
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