WASHINGTON — Secret Service officers on Friday shot a man near a security checkpoint close to the White House after he apparently brandished a weapon, a law enforcement source said.
The suspect was shot in the abdomen and taken into custody, according to two sources familiar with the incident. Witness told investigators they saw the suspect approaching officers with a gun in his hand, a law enforcement official told CNN. The suspect apparently refused to drop the gun and was shot.
President Barack Obama was not at the White House, and Vice President Joe Biden was secured in the White House complex during the incident. The Secret Service later confirmed the shooting.
“The Secret Service is confirming a police involved shooting near the @WhiteHouse complex. All Secret Service protectees are safe,” the agency tweeted.
“No one within or associated with the White House was injured, and everyone in the White House is safe and accounted for,” a White House official said. “The President has been made aware of the situation.”
The White House went into a lockdown that was lifted around 4 p.m. ET.
The city’s EMS said a patient identified as the suspect has been transported to a local hospital with critical injuries. Another law enforcement official said investigators have located the suspect’s vehicle near the shooting area. A law enforcement official told CNN the man does not have a record with the Secret Service.
Earlier in the afternoon, Secret Service officers cleared the White House North Lawn, Pennsylvania Avenue and Lafayette Park in an ongoing security incident. Officers drew guns and ordered reporters to move inside.
