Secret Service agents shot a man they say was brandishing a weapon near the White House over the weekend, threatening to harm himself and others.
Sometime on Saturday, D.C. Metropolitan police received a report from police in North Manchester, Indiana, claiming that an armed 27-year-old man was headed to the D.C. area with perhaps bad intentions. The report indicated that the man was emotionally disturbed and may have been looking to commit suicide by cop.
Secret Service then found the car belonging to the “suicidal individual” and spotted someone who matched his description lurking near the White House, Secret Service chief of communications Anthony Guglielmi said.
President Donald Trump was not in any immediate danger from the gunman or shooting.
Officers then tracked the man down on foot near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, located about a block from the White House. Around midnight on Sunday, the situation escalated considerably when the suspect reportedly pointed a gun at himself and then at the officers. He also allegedly ignored multiple commands to drop the weapon, forcing Secret Service agents to take action and discharge their weapons.
“As officers approached, the individual brandished a firearm and an armed confrontation ensued, during which shots were fired by our personnel,” Guglielmi said in a statement.
The suspect was wounded in the shooting and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The man’s current condition is unknown. A rifle was also reportedly discovered in his parked vehicle.
Thankfully, no officers were injured in the incident. The Secret Service has not confirmed how many shots were fired or the names of the officers involved. The name of the suspect likewise has not been released.
Metro police confirmed that internal affairs officers, who are normally assigned to investigate officer-involved shootings, are continuing to investigate the incident. The department declined to give further comment, Reuters reported.
President Donald Trump was not in any immediate danger from the gunman or shooting, as he spent the weekend at Mar-a-Lago in Florida and did not return to the White House until Sunday evening. However, he narrowly escaped death last July when a gunman opened fire during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Bullets from that shooting grazed Trump’s ear, seriously wounded two attendees, and killed former fire chief Corey Comperatore.
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