An armed man was shot by US Secret Service (USSS) agents in downtown Washington on Monday, according to officials, resulting in a temporary lockdown of the White House.
According to USSS Deputy Director Matthew Quinn, the gunshot on the National Mall occurred just after Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade passed by.
Quinn told reporters he did not believe that the vice president was an intended target and said he could not speculate if it was related to recent attempts on the life of President Donald Trump.
“I’m not going to guess on that,” 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 shooting took place after Secret Service agents identified a “suspicious individual,” who appeared to have a firearm.
The man fled on foot after being approached by the officers, drew his weapon and opened fire, Quinn said.
The Secret Service agents returned fire and wounded the suspect. He was taken to the hospital. His condition was not immediately known.
Quinn reported that a bystander, a juvenile, was slightly injured.
The incident occurred just over a week after a gunman attempted to breach security at a Washington hotel where Trump was holding an event.
Cole Allen, 31, is accused with attempting to assassinate the president.