WASHINGTON — Federal agents opened fire on an individual in the vicinity of the White House on Saturday, with an innocent bystander also wounded during the incident, according to a law enforcement source.
Both victims remain hospitalized in critical condition, the official confirmed while requesting anonymity since they lacked authorization to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation.
News reporters stationed at the White House during Saturday’s incident described hearing multiple rounds of gunfire and received instructions to take cover within the press briefing area.
The Secret Service acknowledged on X that they were “aware of reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW” — located one block from the White House — and were “working to corroborate the information with personnel on the ground.” The agency promised additional details would follow.
FBI Director Kash Patel posted on social media that law enforcement was responding to gunfire reports and stated he would “update the public as we’re able.”
President Donald Trump remained inside the White House during the shooting.
ABC News senior White House correspondent Selina Wang captured dramatic footage on X of the moment she heard what “sounded like dozens of gunshots” and took cover. Wang had been recording a routine social media video about Trump’s earlier Saturday comments regarding a potential Iran deal when the gunfire erupted. Her video shows her speaking briefly before her expression changes and she ducks down in the media tent positioned along the White House driveway where broadcasters conduct their reports. Wang’s footage had been shared thousands of times and viewed over 3 million times by Saturday evening.
The Metropolitan Police Department posted on X that the Secret Service was handling the scene and advised people to stay away from the area. This location is close to where a gunman attacked two West Virginia National Guard members last November.
U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, succumbed to her injuries from that attack. Andrew Wolfe, then 24, sustained critical wounds. Rahmanullah Lakanwal faces charges in connection with that incident.
Saturday’s shooting occurred nearly a month following what authorities described as an assassination attempt against the president on April 25 during his attendance at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner at a Washington hotel. Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California, recently pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he attempted to kill Trump and remains in federal detention.
After that incident, Secret Service agents shot a suspect who allegedly fired at officers near the Washington Monument, also in proximity to the White House. Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, was charged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court related to the May 4 shooting. A teenage bystander sustained injuries during that encounter.
