Shots fired Monday near the White House
The Secret Service abruptly halted the coronavirus briefing but the president was allowed to return a few moments later.
Secret Service
WASHINGTON — agents abruptly halted President Trump’s coronavirus briefing on Monday evening after an armed suspect was shot outside the White House, he said.
The president was just minutes into his briefing shortly before 6 p.m. when a Secret Service agent whispered in Trump’s ear and asked him to leave the podium along with other administration officials who were in the room.
Reporters in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room were briefly placed into lockdown and Secret Service surrounded the West Wing.
The president returned to the stage just minutes later to confirm someone had been taken to the hospital after a shooting outside of the large White House wall.
“It seems that the person was shot by the Secret Service so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said, calling the episode “unfortunate.”
“It was outside of the White House,” he said. “It seems that the shooting was done by law enforcement at the suspect, it was the suspect who was shot,” he continued.
The Secret Service confirmed the shooting in a brief statement, according to the Daily Mail.
“The Secret Service can confirm there has been an officer involved shooting at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Ave. Law enforcement officials are on the scene. More information to follow,” the agency posted on its Twitter account.
The president said he was not taken into the secure underground bunker but to an area near the Oval Office. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was also in the room.
“It was pretty unusual but they do a fantastic job, as you know,” he said, telling reporters he did not fear for his safety after the dramatic episode.
“They just wanted me to step aside for a little while just to make sure that everything was clear outside,” he added.
Appearing unfazed by the incident, the president resumed his briefing and spoke of decreasing U.S. fatalities from the virus and market numbers.
When asked if he was rattled by the shooting, the president said: “I don’t know, do I seem rattled?”
“I didn’t even think about not coming back,” he said, calling the world a “dangerous place.”
A senior administration official confirmed to CNN that an active shooter had been taken into custody.
The president said he was surprised by what happened but was not concerned for his personal safety.
The shooter’s identity and motivation remains unknown.