HOUSE OF FEAR
Trump rushed to safety as agents ‘take down’ gunman
US President Donald Trump was dramatically whisked out of a press conference after a Secret Service agent shot a man outside the White House who claimed to have a weapon.
Mr Trump was less than five minutes into his afternoon coronavirus briefing when he was abruptly removed from the press briefing room.
Reporters were also ordered out of the area as it was locked down.
Mr Trump briefly left the room with a member of his security detail before returning to explain that the Secret Service had taken down someone who was armed.
“There was a shooting outside the White House and it seems to be very much under control,” he said.
“There was an actual shooting and somebody’s been taken to the hospital. It seems the person was shot by the Secret Service.”
The Secret Service later confirmed that one of its officers had shot a 51year-old man who had approached one of its agents at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue and told them he had a weapon.
“The suspect then turned around, ran aggressively towards the officer, and, d i in a d drawing motion, withdrew an object from his clothing,” the Secret Service said in a statement. “He then crouched into a shooter’s stance as if about to fire a weapon. The Secret Service officer discharged his weapon, striking the individual in the torso.”
Officers rendered first aid to the suspect, who was last night in hospital.
The corner is the site of a Secret Service vehicle checkpoint and is a block north of where a man was shot by officers in May 2016 after refusing to put down a weapon.
The White House and surrounds have been heavily fortified in recent weeks after civil unrest and riots that have continued across the country in the wake of the George Floyd killing.
Two metre-high fences and concrete barriers now surround the previously public space of Lafayette Park, which is adjacent to the White House where the President lives.
Mr Trump thanked the Secret Service, describing them as “the best of the best”, and said he felt “very safe”. “They just wanted me to step aside for a little while,” he said.
Mr Trump appeared calm after the incident, returning to the briefing room to continue his press conference and take questions for almost an hour.
“Do I seem rattled?” he said when asked if he had been frightened. “It’s unfortunate … but the world has always been a dangerous place.”
Fox News reporter John Roberts said he was outside on the White House lawn when he heard “two pops” that could have been gunfire at about 5.55pm local time.
Meanwhile, a potential upcoming visit to the US by Scott Morrison appears to have been shelved.
The PM was invited by Mr Trump to attend the G7 summit, which was tentatively scheduled to be held at the presidential retreat, Camp David, next month.
But Mr Trump said he was likely to postpone the summit until after the November election amid concerns about the coronavirus.