A Secret Service officer shot and wounded a man outside the White House who claimed to be armed
Dramatic footage from Monday shows US President Donald Trump being whisked away from a news conference following an incident outside the White House.
Secret Service agents quickly removed the President during the conference, after an agent approached him and whispered into this ear.
President Trump was rushed out of the White House briefing room Monday evening and later said the Secret Service had shot someone nearby. https://t.co/RrzvQqqQT4 pic.twitter.com/LdU94gVZZY
— ABC News (@ABC) August 10, 2020
Donald Trump would then return several minutes later and confirmed that the situation was under control.
The Secret Service said that a 51-year-old man outside the White House had told an officer that he was armed, and assumed a “shooter’s stance”.
The officer then shot him in the torso.
“Both the officer and the suspect were then taken to hospital”, the Secret Service confirmed, adding that “at no time during this incident was the White House complex breached”.
The incident happened on the corner of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Ave, which is outside the perimeter of the White House.
The new conference then continued when Donald Trump returned to the podium.
Minutes after leaving coronavirus briefing with Secret Service, President Trump returns and says someone was shot outside the White House by Secret Service and taken to a hospital https://t.co/Nj065CIsxp pic.twitter.com/QpRnJRq04b
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 10, 2020
Reporters asked the President if Secret Service agents took him to a bunker, but he confirmed he was just taken “out to the Oval Office”.
When asked what the Secret Service agents said to him, Trump replied: “He just told me, you pretty much saw it like I did, he said ‘Sir, can you please come with me?'”
“You were surprised, I was surprised also,” Trump continued. “I think it’s very usual.”
“But [the Secret Service are] very, very professional people who do a fantastic job, as you know.”
“It’s unfortunate that this is the world, but the world’s always been a dangerous place. It’s not something that’s unique.”
President Trump: US Secret Service asked me to step outside the briefing room while they dealt with the shooting incident outside the White House.
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 10, 2020
The Associated Press reports that the District of Columbia fire department has confirmed a man suffered serious or possibly critical injuries.
The man has not yet been named but authorities are looking into his background and mental health history.
