President Donald Trump was on Monday hurriedly evacuated from where he was giving a press conference following the shooting of a man near the White House by the US Secret Service agents.
The agents stated that the man who was wounded was apparently armed.
The suspect, 51-year-old, approached a Secret Service officer standing at the corner of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, one block from the White House, according to Tom Sullivan, the chief of the Secret Service Uniformed Division.
The suspect told the officer he had a weapon and ran “aggressively” towards him, drawing an object out of his clothes, Mr. Sullivan said in a statement that was broadcast on Twitter.
He then assumed a “shooter’s stance” as if he intended to fire, whereupon the Secret Service officer shot him in the torso, Mr. Sullivan added.
Officers on the scene administered first aid, and emergency medical services were called. Both the suspect and the officer were taken to hospital.
“The Secret Service Office of Professional Responsibility will be conducting an internal review of the officer’s actions,” Mr. Sullivan said, adding the DC Metropolitan Police Department had been contacted.
